Whitewater Man Arrested, Accused of Stealing Off-Road Vehicle, Copper Wire

WHITEWATER ((CNS) – A 52-year-old man was arrested Sunday in unincorporated Whitewater after he ran from an allegedly stolen off-road vehicle.

Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Cabazon Station were patrolling the area near the Pacific Crest Trail and the 10 Freeway at 3:32 p.m. when they saw the man running from the vehicle, according to Sgt. Michael Shacklett.

The suspect was apprehended in the open desert, Shacklett said.

“During this investigation, they also located approximately 200 feet of stolen copper wire,” he said.

The suspect was identified as Peter Forster of Whitewater, Shacklett said.

Forster was booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, and held on $10,000 bail for suspicion of taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent and grant theft, according to sheriff’s inmate records.

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