CHP recovers property stolen from Upper Lake; woman found in suspicious van arrested for drugs
- Lake County News reports
- Posted On
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office said its officers have recovered property reported stolen from Upper Lake and made a drug-related arrest of a Santa Rosa woman found in a van that was loitering in the area impacted by the thefts.
The CHP said that recently the Upper Lake community formed a patrol group to address theft, suspicious vehicles and other various problems which are not always visible to law enforcement.
The community patrol reported a suspicious white van and a suspicious blue van that had been loitering in the area, the CHP said.
Officers Brian Hanson and Shawn Bertram received the information on Monday, March 11, and immediately went to work, authorities said.
Within a few hours, Officer Bertram located the white van, unoccupied, on Foothill Drive in Lucerne. With a little investigative work, the CHP said he determined the vehicle was a previously reported stolen U-Haul van, loaded with stolen property in the back.
Officer Bertram was able to identify some of the stolen property and return it to the rightful owners, the CHP said.
The CHP said Officer Bertram has asked that anyone in the Upper Lake, Nice or Lucerne areas who has recently been the victim of property theft to contact him at 707-279-0103.
Also on Monday, Officer Hanson located the second vehicle of interest, a blue Dodge van with expired registration, on Old Lucerne Road near Big Oak Way in Upper Lake, the CHP said.
As Officer Hanson assessed the van, the CHP said he realized that it was occupied by Harley Jean Wilson, 42, of Santa Rosa who was sleeping inside the vehicle.
As he spoke with Wilson, Officer Hanson determined that she was in possession of several illegal substances, the CHP said.
Officer Hanson arrested Wilson Monday afternoon for misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of controlled substance paraphernalia, and a felony arrest warrant out of Sonoma County. Jail records show she also was booked on a felony charge of bringing a controlled substance into a jail.
She remained in custody on Tuesday, with bail set at $20,000. Her booking sheet indicates she is to make a court appearance on Wednesday.
The CHP said the blue van Wilson was driving was impounded at Jones Towing.
The CHP thanked the Upper Lake Community Patrol for reporting these suspicious circumstances to law enforcement, noting that community patrols act as the eyes and the ears for law enforcement and allow them to be more effective in serving our communities.