A Stockton man is facing a felony theft charge after he was found asleep in a stolen vehicle in December.
Brian Joseph Richards, 39, is charged with second-degree felony theft and misdemeanor use or possession of drug paraphernalia. Richards made his initial appearance in 3rd District Court on Tuesday before Judge Robert Adkins.
According to a probable cause statement from the Tooele City Police Department, an officer was dispatched to Oak Street on an unknown problem on Dec. 21. When the officer arrived, they found Richards asleep in the driver’s seat of a red Dodge pickup truck, which was reported stolen on the National Crime Information Center database earlier in the month.
Richards said he was supposed to return the vehicle to his father but had not, the probable cause statement said. After the officer placed Richards under arrest, he was searched and a glass pipe with burn residue was found in his pocket.
Richards admitted to the arresting officer that he had used methamphetamine, the statement said.
When the officer ran a theft report, it was found that Richards was in possession of the stolen vehicle on Dec. 1 and was supposed to return it that day, the probable cause statement said.
Richards is scheduled to appear again in 3rd District Court on Jan. 17 at 9 a.m. before Adkins.