Captain Jason Berry
Government and Media Relations
(360) 596-4010 – office
(360) 596-4015 – fax
http://www.wsp.wa.gov
*** For Immediate Release***
Date:
November 24, 2010
Contact:
Trooper Brandy Kessler
Phone:
Cell: (253) 606-1796 / Desk: (253) 538-3105
E-mail:
brandy.kessler@wsp.wa.gov
Snow Doesn’t Stop Car Thieves
Department of Transportation (DOT) stopped to check on a vehicle that was possibly disabled and found out it was stolen and that’s when the thieves came back with gas to get it.
At approximately 7:30 a.m. this morning on the off ramp from Southbound I-5 to 72nd Avenue, a DOT incident response worker stopped to check on what he thought was a disabled motorist. It turns out the 2006 Mazda MZ5 was abandoned. After running the plate through the state patrol dispatch, the DOT worker found out the car was stolen. Dispatchers called troopers to the scene.
As the DOT worker waited for troopers to arrive, a white van pulled over in front of the car. Two occupants, a female and male, got out of the van and went back to the Mazda to put fuel in it. The state patrol’s DART plane happened to be in the area and was able to fly over the scene to observe. The male went back to the van and got in on the passenger side as the female got in the stolen Mazda, and both drove away. The trooper pilots were able to follow the Mazda in the DART plane while the DOT worker followed the van.
With the assistance of the trooper pilots in the DART plane, a trooper was able to stop the stolen Mazda at S. 66th St. and Alder in Tacoma. The female driver, Deanna K. Nocera a 33 year old from Tacoma, was arrested. Stolen credit cards and a burglary tool were found in Nocera’s possession.
Another trooper caught up to the DOT worker and van northbound I-5 just north of SR-512. The driver and passenger of the van, 41 year old Terrance L. Brown of Tacoma and 31 year old Christopher A Summers of Tacoma, were both arrested.
All three suspects were booked into the Pierce County Jail and all three had extensive criminal history backgrounds.