Suspect to Pierce County deputy: ‘I didn’t know it was stolen’

On Tuesday, a Pierce County Sheriff’s Department (PCSD) deputy pulled over a man allegedly riding a motorcycle without a license plate. Experience told the deputy the rider was likely to run but he didn’t. He pulled over and pulled out a screwdriver to turn it off.

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The deputy immediately assumed the bike was stolen, and after running the VIN, the deputy learned it was stolen out of Kent. But the rider said he didn’t know the bike was stolen and that he just got it from a friend. The deputy said if he didn’t know the bike was stolen, he should have.

“You probably shouldn’t be willing to drive somebody else’s vehicle with a screwdriver to start it,” PCSD’s Sgt. Darren Moss Jr. told KIRO Newsradio. “On top of that, this guy didn’t have a license. There’s no insurance, there’s no registration on the bike.”

PCSD can’t prove the man stole the bike, but he was arrested anyway.

“You’re not getting charged with stealing it, you’re being charged with being in possession of it, because you’re in possession of a stolen vehicle,” the deputy is heard saying on bodycam video.

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With so much buying and selling of vehicles and motorcycles online and from private individuals, Moss said this is a cautionary tale for everyone to do their due diligence, or risk going to jail.

“If it sounds too good to be true it probably is,” Moss said. “Please don’t go out and try to buy a vehicle with no registration, no license plate, no ownership information and you have to start it with a shaved key or a screwdriver. We all know that’s a stolen vehicle.”

James Lynch is a reporter at KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of James’ stories here. Follow James on X, or email him here.

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