Sonora, CA…18-year-old Dakota Smiley of Copperopolis was arrested for vehicle theft, multiple counts of vehicle tampering, and conspiracy charges. His accomplice, Jesse Newton of Tuolumne City is currently at large and is being sought by police for similar charges.

On Christmas morning, Sonora Police Officers were dispatched to an apartment complex on the 200 block of Greenley Road for a report of a suspicious vehicle left with its doors open. Upon their arrival, officers discovered that this vehicle, as well as four other vehicles at the complex, had been tampered with. It also was learned that over $1,500 dollars worth of miscellaneous property was taken from different vehicles and that two additional vehicles had been stolen; a 1996 blue Subaru Legacy and a red 2002 Kia Sportage.

The Police Department issued a “Be-On-the-Lookout” for the stolen vehicles, and the CHP was able to locate the Subaru and Dakota Smiley in Jamestown later that day. The Kia was also later located on Jamestown Road but was unoccupied at the time.