Cops: Man who claimed to be kidnap victim arrested in auto theft instead

A man who allegedly borrowed a car from a Tiburon crossing guard then feigned a kidnapping was arrested more than 500 miles away — on Interstate 10 in Palm Desert — on suspicion of stealing the vehicle.

Mitchell C. Powell Jr., 49, of Tucson, Ariz., was arrested and booked into Riverside County’s John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio on April 27 on felony suspicion of taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent and knowingly using stolen property. He was released on bail the same day and has a court hearing set for July 30 at Indio’s Larson Justice Center.

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