Lake County man arrested near Willits with stolen pickup
- Lake County News reports
NORTH COAST, Calif. — Authorities arrested a Lake County man last week after he was found in possession of drugs and stolen property, including a pickup.
Joshua Timothy Colcleaser, 35, of Nice was arrested on Sept. 26, according to a report from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.
On that day, authorities said a Mendocino County Sheriff's deputy noticed a red Ford Ranger with a camper shell traveling westbound on Highway 20 in Willits. The deputy knew the truck was possibly stolen from Lake County earlier in the day.
The sheriff’s office said the deputy saw the vehicle make a U-turn on Highway 20 and begin traveling eastbound on Highway 20. The deputy also turned around and went to conduct a traffic stop on the truck when it abruptly turned northbound on Pepperwood Way.
The truck came to a quick stop and the driver, later identified as Joshua Colcleaser, exited the driver's seat and ran westbound, the sheriff’s office reported.
The report said the deputy identified himself and told Colcleaser to stop. Colcleaser did not stop and continued running westbound.
Other sheriff's deputies along with personnel from the Willits Police Department, and the California Highway Patrol responded to the area. The sheriff’s office said after a search of the area on foot they were unable to locate Colcleaser in the brush.
The Ford Ranger was confirmed to have been stolen that same day from a location in Lake County. The registered owner, a Lakeport resident, responded to Willits and took custody of his truck, authorities said.
Inside the truck, the deputy located numerous items which did not belong to the victim. The sheriff’s office said the items included a purse with credit and debit cards in the name of a Ukiah woman. The deputy confirmed the purse and contents had been stolen in Ukiah early in the day and that the incident had been reported to the Ukiah Police Department.
The sheriff’s office said the deputy located two plastic bags containing suspected methamphetamine, on the front passenger seat, and two used glass pipes in the vehicle, commonly used to ingest controlled substances.
Also inside the truck was a box of ammunition, a cellular phone, a drone, a brown wallet and a hunting license in another person's name from the Bay Area, authorities said.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office and Willows Police Department began getting calls regarding Colcleaser's location on Highway 20.
Willows Police located Colcleaser and detained him. The deputy responded and positively identified Colcleaser as the person who ran from the truck, authorities said.
The sheriff’s office said Colcleaser was arrested on charges including possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of stolen property, violation of probation, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting/delaying law enforcement and two felony out-of-county arrest warrants.
While fleeing on foot Colcleaser had suffered injuries and was transported to the hospital for treatment, authorities said.
Colcleaser was subsequently transported to the Mendocino County Jail where he was booked and held on a no bail status.
He remains in custody this week with bail set at $70,000, according to jail records.