Deal Between Thieves Ends With Their Arrests
Jamestown, CA – Two thieves devised a plan to steal a pickup and trailer from the owner, but it did not turn out as they had planned.
CHP officers were dispatched to a theft after the owner reported his 1994 Chevrolet truck with a trailer attached had been stolen while he was attempting to sell it to a couple. About a half hour later, an officer saw a pickup matching the description westbound on Highway 120, east of O’Byrnes Ferry Road. Following behind was his alleged accomplice in a GMC Jimmy SUV. Both were pulled over. Behind the wheel of the stolen truck was 65-year-old Albert Amaral, and in the SUV was 60-year-old Dorothy Whitecotten, both of Modesto.
Further questioning revealed the two thieves’ plans, as explained by CHP spokesperson Officer Joshua McKernan: “Amaral and Whitecotten had entered into a deal to purchase the vehicle, and Amaral took the truck on a ‘test drive’ while Whitecotten remained with the owner to transfer funds. She then fled from the victim’s property without transferring the funds, and Amaral did not return the truck.”
Amaral and Whitecotten were arrested and booked into the Tuolumne County Jail for felony vehicle theft.
