Full Notification

On Wednesday, October 14, 2020, at approximately 8:28 PM, the Sausalito Police Department received an alert from our License Plate Recognition cameras of a stolen vehicle entering Sausalito from the 4000 block of Bridgeway. The vehicle, a 2007 Toyota Solara, had been stolen from Petaluma earlier that day.

Sausalito Police Officers responded immediately and began to search for the Toyota. At approximately 8:31 PM, Corporal Brian Mather located the Toyota in the 1900 block of Bridgeway. When Corporal Mather attempted to stop the Toyota, it speed away southbound on Bridgeway and a short pursuit ensued. The pursuit lasted approximately 3 minutes and reached speeds up to 60 MPH. The pursuit ended when the Toyota drove onto a dead end street in the 200 block of Valley Street and Officers were able to affect a traffic stop. Officers removed the 16-year old driver and the 17-year old passenger for the Toyota without further incident and took them into custody.

Further investigation revealed that both juveniles were runaways from Petaluma and that the 16-year old was driving under the influence of an over the counter medication. Inside of the Toyota Officers found a small dog. This was one of two dogs that had been inside of the Toyota when it was stolen. The juveniles stated that the other dog was “too annoying” so they abandoned it in San Francisco prior to driving to Sausalito. The dog was returned to its owner.

The 16-year old was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle, vehicle theft, driving under the influence, evading police officers, and reckless driving. The 17-year old was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle and vehicle theft. Both juveniles were booked into the Marin County Juvenile Hall.

Since the City of Sausalito’s License Plate Recognition Cameras program became operational on Thursday, May 18, 2017, forty-five (45) stolen vehicles have been recovered and fifty-one (51) individuals have been arrested for various crimes. The goal of the License Plate Recognition Camera program is to increase public safety by utilizing technology to alert law enforcement to wanted vehicles, enhance post-crime investigative abilities, and deter crime by increasing the likelihood of suspect identification.