Fbi’S Print Database Leads To Suspect I.D.

An uncooperative car theftsuspect proved no match for the AFIS.

The FBI’s Automatic Fingerprint Identification System helped Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputies identify a man who refused to give his identity.

Joe P. Bowen, 32, is charged with stealing a truck, and with robbery and driving offenses in Yakima.

Bowen wouldn’t give his name when deputies spotted him after he allegedly stole a truck from the Blue Keg Tavern at Trent and Pines on March 6.

He was sitting in the truck when it gave out near Highway 2 and Day-Mount Spokane Road.

At first he identified himself as Rick P. Livengood, but later said he was “Joe,” said sheriff’s deputy Dave Reagan.

The man was seen driving carelessly near Highway 2 and Day-Mount Spokane Road. Witnesses said a white male was driving a small blue pickup and was speeding, passing in no-pass zones and weaving, Reagan said.

A deputy found the man east of Highway 2 sitting in the truck, which was steaming from the hood.

Bowen refused to keep his hands in view of the deputy, so he searched Bowen’s clothing for weapons and found a brass marijuana pipe, Reagan said.

A check of the license plate number revealed that the truck was reported stolen from the Blue Keg. The sheriff arrested Bowen for taking the truck. Meanwhile he continued to hide his identity and was booked as “John Doe.”

His fingerprints were processed locally through the AFIS system but the computer didn’t make a match. After contacting the FBI, the bureau’s national database produced Bowen’s identity within an hour.