'Excuse Me, Sir -- Your Car's On Fire.' Man's Burning Vehicle Catches Cops' Eye, Leads to Drug, Theft Busts.

Posted by Veronica Hernandez on Monday, January 10, 2011

car on fire
No, there's no way to play it off cool when the San Francisco Police Department notices that your car is burning -- and it tips them off that maybe, just maybe, you're up to no good.

That's how it went late last week in Bernal Heights when cops chatted it up with a parolee after he left his vehicle. It was after the police concluded their conversation that a bystander helpfully pointed out to the cops that the car was on fire. This, apparently, had escaped initial notice.

Upon further inspection of "something burning in the car," the police determined that the vehicle did not, in fact, belong to the parolee who'd been driving it. It was hot -- and not just as a result of the little blaze.

The parolee's second conversation with the SFPD was less pleasant. They found drugs belonging to him in the stolen car, searched his residence and found more drugs. The unfortunate gent was booked for a drug violation, car theft, and a parole violation.
car on fire