Is it a stolen car, or not?
In an odd case, the question remains unanswered although police in West University Place last week did locate a car that had been reported stolen at some time in the past.
A West U. officer on Feb. 21 pulled over a silver Volkswagon after a registration check indicated the car was stolen. The driver did admit the car wasn’t his — it belonged to a friend. The driver wasn’t arrested or charged, but police still impounded the car because they could not confirm if it was actually stolen, or whether the whole thing was an insurance mixup.
When a vehicle’s owner reports his car was stolen, he makes a claim with his insurance company. In some cases, the company pays the claim to the victim, who uses the cash to buy a new car. Occasionally, the stolen car turns up later, becoming the property of the insurance company. The company then legitimately sells the car at auction, and is supposed to remove the vehicle from the stolen car registry.
In this specific case, Deily said the Harris County District Attorney’s office refused to press charges on the driver after learning the Volkswagon’s title was registered to Safeco Insurance Company, which has a history of forgetting to notify police to remove previously stolen vehicles from the car theft registry.
The vehicle will remain impounded until the owner claims it and proves that he or she legitimately owns the car, Deily said.
Other incidents during the week included:
- On Feb. 23, an officer stopped a suspicious vehicle because its registration was expired. The driver had outstanding West U. warrants, and was arrested and booked into jail.
- On Feb. 23, an officer pulled over a car for having an expired registration. The driver lied about his name and date of birth, but the officer learned the man’s true identity through a portable fingerprint device. The officer arrested the man and charged him with failure to identify.
- On Feb. 26, police responded to the 4000 block of Bellaire Boulevard after someone reported that a suspect had broken the vehicle’s window and stolen a purse.
- On Feb. 27, officers went to the 2900 block of University Boulevard when a resident reported a burglary in progress. The resident said someone had entered through the rear door, but officers couldn’t find anyone inside the home.
- On Feb. 27, police responded to a report of criminal mischief in the 2600 block of Bissonnet Street.
