Inmate allegedly steals car after being given wrong car key

EPHRATA — A George man was rearrested and put back in the Grant County Jail after he was given the wrong car key while being released from jail, then allegedly stole the car.

Eduardo Solares Rivera, 28, was booked on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle, first-degree theft and possession of stolen property on May 28, according to booking records from the Grant County Jail. Solares Rivera had been booked on an unrelated charge and was being released earlier on May 28, wrote Kyle Foreman, public information officer for the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.

“What is initially believed to have happened is that one inmate’s car key fob was stored in the property box of (Solares Rivera),” Foreman wrote. “When Solares Rivera left the jail, he was able to push the fob and unlock the door of the inmate’s vehicle. Solares Rivera then drove away in the other inmate’s vehicle.”

Ephrata Police Department officers located and arrested Solares Rivera a short time later, Foreman wrote.

“This clearly was a serious administrative accident, and we are taking immediate action to review policies and practices and implement new actions to ensure it does not happen again,” wrote Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones.