San Andreas, CA…On November 29, 2016, San Andreas CHP Officers were contacted by the victim of a trailer theft from August of 2016. They related that they located their 2003 HH Utility trailer for sale on a popular Facebook for sale page. They were able to provide identifying information about the trailer that led investigators to believe that the trailer belonged to the victims. Investigators had the victims arrange with the seller to meet at the San Andreas DMV office to facilitate the sale. CHP Investigators contacted the sellers, Kelsea Galloway and David Knaak at the DMV. Both offered multiple different stories about how they came into possession of the trailer however Galloway claimed ownership of the trailer and Knaak claimed that he built portions of the trailer. A inspection of the trailer showed obvious attempts to destroy the original Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) however Investigators were able to identify the trailer through confidential means.

Both suspects were arrested at the scene and booked into the County Jail for Vehicle Theft and Possession of Stolen Property.

CHP reminds the public to never purchase a vehicle that does not have a easily readable VIN number and paperwork that matches the VIN number. If there is a doubt require that the seller have a VIN inspection done by local CHP. Trailer theft appears to be on the rise in our area and owners need to protect themselves by properly securing their trailers to prevent theft.