TWO ARRESTED FOR POSSESSION OF A STOLEN VEHICLE IN TWENTYNINE PALMS

Two people were arrested Monday morning after they were found with a stolen vehicle in Twentynine Palms. According to a Sheriff’s report, a deputy checked on an abandoned vehicle near Mantonya Road and Highway 62 shortly before 8:30. The deputy determined that the vehicle had been reported stolenout of Alhambra, and saw a woman, later identified as Staci Black, 22, walking away from it. When questioned, Black said a companion, Joseph McLaughlin, 26, had been driving the vehicle. Deputies searched the nearby desert and called in a helicopter to look for McLaughlin, who was located in the Indian Cove Campground area of Joshua Tree National Park. Staci Black and Joseph McLaughlin were arrested for investigation of possession of stolen property, booked at the Morongo Basin Jail, with their bail set at $10,000 each. McLaughlin also had a no-bail warrant for his arrest for a parole violation.