Police find bicycle in place of stolen car, 3 arrested

Three Palm Springs residents were arrested early Thursday morning in connection to a stolen SUV. Police are investigating the crime and are looking for more answers after finding an abandoned bicycle near the location of the stolen vehicle.

According to a release from the Palm Springs Police Department, an officer pulled over a 2008 Honda CRV in the 4000 block of East Ramon Road around 4:40 a.m. During the traffic stop, the officer discovered the license plate on the SUV was from another vehicle and the CRV was an unreported stolen vehicle.

Officers said the CRV was stolen in the 300 block of East San Jose Road in Palm Springs earlier Thursday morning, unbeknownst to the owner.

The woman driving the stolen SUV was 28-year-old Candis Maine. Officers said Daniel Knott, 21, was also riding in the vehicle. They were both arrested at the scene.

Maine is facing felony charges of vehicle theft and possession of a stolen vehicle. Knott was also arrested on felony charges of vehicle theft and possession of a stolen vehicle, but he’s also charged with a felony for violating his probation.

A followup investigation into the misplaced license plate led to the arrest of a third suspect; 45-year-old Gary Bottroff of Palm Springs.

Officials said Bottroff was arrested in the 5000 block of Ramon Road for possessing the stolen license plate from the Honda CRV and for providing the license plate that was used in its place.

Bottroff is charged with felony accessory to a crime and possession of stolen property.

All three of the suspects were booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.

Officers found an abandoned silver Minelli Eclipse men’s bicycle where the SUV was stolen. At this point they’re trying to determine if the bike was stolen leading up to the SUV theft.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Palm Springs Police Department at 760-341-7867.