Mattawa Man Confesses To Stealing Woman’s Car After One-Night Stand
A Mattawa man is facing jail time after admitting in court that he stole a vehicle belonging to a woman with whom he'd had a one-night stand.
The Ellensburg Daily Record reports 26-year-old Tony Espindola met the woman at a bar in the 300 block of North Pearl Street in Ellensburg in January, 2023.
Court documents indicate the woman claims to have taken Espindola back to her apartment after the bar closed at around 1:25 a.m., where the two engaged in consensual sex and he remained until later that morning.
When the woman awakened, she discovered Espindola was gone, along with her cellphone and a ring of keys.
She subsequently found her 2014 Subaru Outback missing from the apartment complex's parking lot, along with several valuables which had been inside the vehicle, including another cellphone and a pair of laptop computers.
The woman then reported the vehicle as stolen and police used its GPS tracking system to locate it near Main Street and Second Avenue in Ellensburg, where they discovered Espindola behind the wheel.
Espindola reportedly told police he'd merely borrowed the woman's car to get home but had forgotten her name and was unable to return it.
He was arrested and booked into the Kittitas County Jail for second-degree theft and theft of a motor vehicle.
During an initial appearance in Kittitas County Superior Court two years ago, Espindola pled not guilty to the crime but reversed his course during a change-of-plea hearing last week when he entered guilty pleas to both charges.
Espindola is now facing up to nine months in jail and six months parole.
His sentencing has been scheduled for Feb. 4.
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