A 34-year-old man is behind bars today after an automated license plate reader on a Rochester police squad car returned a "high-alert" hit for a stolen car, officials said today.
The case actually began more than a week ago, when the vehicle was reported as stolen, said Capt. John Sherwin. The information was entered into an information database.
About 7 p.m. Thursday, an officer on patrol in the area of 11th Avenue and Second Street Northeast was driving the department's only car equipped with an ALPR when the alert came across.
He followed the vehicle, Sherwin said, eventually stopping it on 13th Avenue Southeast, and arrested the driver on suspicion of motor vehicle theft. In addition, the report says, there was enough synthetic marijuana in the vehicle — about 16 grams — to merit a charge of drug sale.
The Post-Bulletin typically doesn't identify suspects until they've been charged.
