A Culver City woman with a history of vehicle theft was arrested on January 31 in South Lake Tahoe after a stolen vehicle was found near South Tahoe Middle School, prompting a brief school lockdown.
Around 9:30 a.m., the South Lake Tahoe Police Department received a report of a stolen vehicle on Lodi Avenue. Just 15 minutes later, a plainclothes detective located the vehicle in the school’s parking lot. As a precaution, the school was placed on lockdown while officers investigated, unsure if the vehicle was occupied.
The lockdown was lifted shortly after officers confirmed the vehicle was unoccupied and the suspect had fled. Police then found a suspect matching the description from surveillance footage. The suspect, identified as 42-year-old Yolanda Benson of Culver City, was uncooperative and appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance.
Benson, who was already on probation for vehicle theft in Los Angeles County, also had an outstanding felony warrant for a probation violation. She was arrested and booked into the El Dorado County Jail on charges of vehicle theft, resisting arrest, and for her probation violation.
The stolen vehicle was processed for evidence and returned to its rightful owner.