A woman who was driving around in a car she thought she purchased legally online was involved in a felony traffic stop around 8:30 a.m. in Valencia, after Santa Clarita Valley deputies discovered her car had been reported stolen.
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The woman, who was not identified by deputies because detectives do not suspect she was involved in a crime, was pulled over Tuesday morning near Rye Canyon Road and Newhall Ranch Road.
“Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies discovered the car had been reported stolen out of Anaheim after running the vehicle’s license plate,” said Deputy Josh Dubin of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.
After performing a felony traffic stop, the woman was briefly detained.
“Through the course of their investigation, deputies learned that the person who reported the car stolen left the spare key and pink slip in the car,” Dubin said.
“The woman claimed that she bought the car on CraigsList,” said Dubin, adding that detectives are still investigating the incident and looking for the source of the sale.
The illegal sale was only discovered after deputies made a felony traffic stop in Valencia, where they were trying to be proactive on a patrol, Dubin said.
The woman, who is believed to be a victim in the incident, was being extremely cooperative, he said.
Deputies offered a caution about the incident, warning residents against leaving a spare key and a pink slip inside of a car, because that can be used to transfer ownership of the vehicle.
There are also ways to investigate if the car being purchased at a private sale has been reported stolen.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has more information on how to check on a vehicle.
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Source: Santa Clarita News
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