Truck left to ‘warm up’ stolen in Deer Park

Apparently a pickup left running outside a Deer Park home early Monday was already warm enough for one man. Deputies say Samuel J. Sanchez, 32, stole a 1992 Ford Ranger from the 10700 block of North Humboldt Drive because he was cold and tired of walking. Sanchez was stopped on Highway 395 while driving the pickup, which had been reported stolen about 6 a.m., according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. The pickup’s owner said he left it running outside his home to “warm up,” according to a news release, then heard the engine revving and saw it being driven toward the highway. Sanchez, a felon whose driver’s license is suspended, was arrested without incident after a deputy spotted the stolen pickup northbound at Hastings Road. Deputies say he had a double-edged throwing knife on the passenger seat. Sanchez told deputies he was walking home when he spotted the unattended pickup. He was booked into jail on charges of theft of a motor vehicle, possession of a dangerous weapon and third-degree driving while license suspended. “While not illegal to allow a motor vehicle to run unattended on private property, it is certainly inadvisable,” said Sgt. Dave Reagan, sheriff’s spokesman.