The following is a press release issued by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The information has not been proven in a court of law and any individuals described should be presumed innocent until proven guilty:
On September 23rd, 2021, at approximately 1:30 PM, a Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy was patrolling in the Middletown area. The deputy observed a male walking in the Armstrong Street area around several vehicles behind a convenience store. The deputy believed the male was possibly tampering with the vehicles.
The deputy contacted the male subject identified as, Travis Jay Minor, 26, of Kelseyville. Minor told the deputy he was stuck in Middletown because his vehicle had run out of gas and it was parked near the park. The deputy was familiar with Minor and knew he had been arrested the previous week for tampering with vehicles. The deputy conducted field tests and determined Minor was under the influence of a controlled substance.
The deputy again asked Minor where his vehicle was. He told the deputy it was parked in front of the convenience store near Armstrong and Hwy. 29. Minor was not able to tell the deputy what type of vehicle he was driving. The deputy believed that Minor was being evasive about the vehicle because it was possibly stolen. Minor was placed under arrest for being under the influence of a controlled substance.
During a search of Minor the deputy located a Mercedes key. The deputy checked the area in front of the convenience store for a Mercedes vehicle. He located a silver Mercedes that he believed was related to Minor. The Mercedes was not locked so the deputy attempted to use the key from Minor to start the vehicle, but the key did not match the vehicle. It was later determined that this Mercedes was not related when the owner of the vehicle contacted the deputy in front of the store.
The deputy again questioned Minor about the location of his vehicle. Minor told the deputy it was parked further north. The deputy drove north on Hwy. 29 locating a black Mercedes parked across the street from Hardister’s Market. The deputy used the Mercedes key found on Minor to unlock this Mercedes and found they matched.
The deputy contacted the registered owner to verify that Minor was supposed to have the vehicle. The owner told the deputy he was just calling to report it stolen. The owner responded to the deputy’s location and took possession of his vehicle. The owner told the deputy that Minor had spent the night at his residence the previous night. When the owner woke up he noticed Minor and his vehicle were gone. Minor never had permission to take the Mercedes.
Minor was booked into the Lake County Jail on charges of being Under the Influence of a Controlled Substance and Vehicle Theft.
poor lost dude.