Spokane woman sentenced to 43 months for stealing truck

EPHRATA — A Spokane woman was sentenced last week to just more than three and a half years (43 months) in state prison after pleading guilty to a Dec. 2 incident in which she was found in Beverly behind the wheel of a vehicle stolen out of Union Gap, according to court documents.

Juanita M. Vickers, 34, pleaded guilty Dec. 15 to possession of a stolen vehicle in a plea agreement with prosecutors, which dropped the charge of making false statements to a public servant. Her criminal offender score was more than nine, which contributed to her sentence. The standard range with her criminal history was 43-57 months confinement.

On Dec. 2, shortly before 9 p.m., a Grant County Sheriff’s deputy was informed by the Union Gap Police Department that a stolen vehicle was showing a GPS signal at the 17300 block of Pasco Street Southwest in Beverly. Before police could arrive, the vehicle reportedly began moving again, and the signal was lost until the vehicle came to a stop for an extended period of time, according to the police report.

Around 10:30 p.m., deputies were told the vehicle in question, a dark grey Toyota Tacoma with dealer plates, had been pulled over in the area of Road 24.1 Southwest and Road U.3 Southwest by an officer with the Mattawa Police Department. Mattawa police detained the driver, who was later identified as Vickers.

Vickers reportedly told officers that she purchased the vehicle a few days prior and had all of the financing paperwork in the vehicle. Vehicle loan paperwork found in the vehicle was signed by a woman, which Vickers reportedly told officers was her name, according to court records.

The responding deputy contacted the dealership where the car was allegedly purchased, which stated that a woman claiming to be Laura Cowger purchased the vehicle. Shortly after the vehicle left the lot, however, the real Cowger called the dealership and asked why her credit was run. The dealership realized they had been scammed by someone and reported the vehicle stolen, according to court records.

Confronted with this information, Vickers reportedly gave officers her real name, stating that a friend named “Mary” had arranged everything and that Vickers just signed the paperwork.