Police arrest man driving stolen car in Palm Springs

A 28-year-old man from Yucaipa was arrested Saturday night after Palm Springs police saw him driving away from a hotel in a stolen car.

Lieutenant Mike Kovaleff said officers received a report of a stolen Chevy Malibu that was taken from the 700 block of San Lorenzo between 5 p.m. and 10:20 p.m. They found the stolen car in a hotel parking lot in the 1100 block of South Palm Canyon Drive at about 10:50 p.m.

According to Lt. Kovaleff, within a few minutes, Joseph Lawrence Tavis was seen driving away in the Malibu. Officers stopped the suspect near South Palm Canyon Drive and Mesquite Avenue and he was taken into custody.

Tavis is facing two felony charges of vehicle theft and possession of a stolen vehicle, and a misdemeanor charge for violating his probation, Kovaleff said in a release.

The suspect was booked into the Riverside County Jail in Indio on $5,000 bail.