THIEVES’ REMORSE IN A BIZARRE CASE OF A STOLEN LICENSE PLATE

In a case that could be characterized as thieves’ remorse, a Morongo Valley man was arrested Saturday after a bizarre case of a stolen license plate. According to Sheriff’s reports, employees from Liberty Automotive in Morongo Valley called about 8 a.m. Saturday to report a license plate had been stolen Friday night off an employee’s vehicle parked at the dealership. Video surveillance showed a Jeep Cherokee pulled up behind the vehicle about 8:30 p.m. A man got out of the Jeep and removed the rear license plate from a 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan and fastened it to the Jeep. The Jeep then drove off. Then about 1 p.m. Saturday, a dealership employee called the deputy to report that Michael Johnson, 42, had called and said he had stolen the plate, that it was all a big misunderstanding, and he was going to bring it back to the dealership when he brought his Jeep in for repairs. About 2:30 p.m., Johnson and a friend stopped at the dealership and Johnson said he was on his way to retrieve the license plate. A deputy made a traffic stop on the vehicle, and the report states that Johnson admitted to using the stolen license plate on his vehicle. Michael Johnson was arrested for investigation of a felony charge of using a stolen license plate, booked at the Morongo Basin Jail, with his bail set at $25,000.