A California police officer was watching a stolen Mini Cooper when a man walked up and asked the time. The unexpected conversation ended with the man’s arrest.
The October 7 encounter unfolded in Healdsburg, where police were searching for a vehicle reported stolen in nearby Santa Rosa.
Officers had already spotted the car once before losing sight of its driver. They eventually found it parked near a shopping center and decided to wait for someone to return.
Instead, a man matching the driver’s description approached an officer and started talking. His answers soon ended the search.
An Unexpected Visitor
The Healdsburg Police Department’s arrest records document an arrest connected to a stolen vehicle on October 7. In its account of the incident, the department said a routine question about the time turned into a conversation about the car officers were watching.
The man first asked an officer what time it was. After the officer engaged him in conversation, he followed up with another question: Was the officer looking for somebody?
He explained that he was from Santa Rosa and had parked his own vehicle farther down the street, close to where officers had located the stolen car.
The officer asked what kind of vehicle he was driving. After a brief hesitation, the man answered that it was a Mini Cooper.
That was precisely the kind of vehicle police had been watching.
The Earlier Search
The encounter began at about 8:22 a.m., when a Flock automated license plate reader alerted Healdsburg police to a stolen vehicle entering the city.
Officers searched the surrounding area, and one spotted the vehicle traveling across Memorial Bridge. By the time the officer turned around, the driver had disappeared from view.
Officers later located the Mini Cooper parked and unoccupied near the Safeway Shopping Center. Rather than leaving immediately, officers watched the vehicle from a distance, hoping to identify the driver. The surveillance operation was still underway when the man approached the officer.
What Followed
After the man identified a Mini Cooper as his vehicle, officers detained him.
The department reported that he subsequently admitted to stealing the vehicle from Santa Rosa. Officers also found multiple pieces of evidence inside the car that they believed connected him to it, although the public account did not identify those items.
The department’s arrest database lists Nicholas A. Jameson, 45, as arrested at 8:48 a.m. on October 7 for possession of a stolen vehicle.
The listed offense is a misdemeanor under California Penal Code 496d(a). An arrest and criminal charge do not establish guilt.
Police reported that the man was booked into the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility without incident. Police returned the Mini Cooper to its owner.