A California, Mo. man was arrested Tuesday after allegedly stealing license plate stickers.
On January 20, officers with the California Police Department were investigating a report of theft.
During the investigation, they learned two license plate stickers were stolen from a vehicle.
Court documents mention the license plate tabs were also stolen on Monday, January 19.
At 4:30 p.m., an officer went to the area of the reported thefts, searching for a red and black Chevrolet truck they had issued a citation for with expired plates.
The officer located the truck at a residence, and saw it displayed pink 2027 tabs on the license plate.
The officer ran the plate and saw the truck was coming back with a 2025 registration.
The officer then checked the red and black tab numbers displayed on the back, and the tab numbers matched the stolen tabs from Monday.
The officer contacted Michael Jacob Richey at the residence.
According to court documents, Richey claimed he purchased the tabs for his truck at the DMV, but he was unable to provide any paperwork.
Richey was detained, and after being read his Miranda Rights, he admitted to stealing the tabs off his neighbor’s truck.
He claimed he stole the tabs because his truck would not pass inspection.
Richey was booked into Moniteau County Jail and held on a $1,000 bond.
He was charged with Forgery and Stealing – Value Less Than $150 and No Prior Stealing Offense.