32-year-old Hector Arel Salmeanto stole Makenzie Harris’s car from her workplace, HCA/Centennial Development, on May 1st. Officers were dispatched to a Georgia Avenue residence regarding a call stating there was a male Hispanic, later identified as Salmeanto, getting out of a vehicle in a valley behind his house and attempting to jump over his fence. When officers arrived, they located Salmeanto, who was sweating and could not provide a legitimate story on how he obtained the vehicle or ended up at their dispatched location. Officers asked Salmeanto who owned the car, and he gave them two names of those he believed were the registered owners.
Then, officers found and spoke with Harris, the stolen vehicle owner, who stated her car had been taken from work and called it in at 4:59 p.m. Harris stated the patrol officers had not made it to her job, so her car was not yet reported as stolen. She gave officers a description of Salmeanto from the camera footage outside her workplace. Officers had located Salmeanto in the immediate area of the vehicle and found the vehicle’s keys on his person. The vehicle was estimated to be approximately $9,000. Salmeanto was taken into custody for vehicle theft.