‘I always run from you guys’: Serial Spokane car thief arrested for the 58th time

Kelsie Morgan by Kelsie Morgan

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A man with 14 previous felony convictions was arrested once again by Spokane police Thursday morning.

Police were made aware of a stolen Ford pick-up truck leaving a North Spokane apartment complex around 4:30 a.m. on November 14. The truck was originally stolen back in August. It was also used in a burglary on November 8,

Police said when they spotted the truck, 33-year-old Daniel Wessels was behind the wheel. He appeared to be casing neighborhoods and may have stolen items from a garage in the Indian Trail neighborhood, according to police.

Around 7:00 a.m., officers confronted Wessels in a dead end on Hills Court near Fiske Street.

Wessels had gotten out of the truck but was found walking near Underhill Park. Officers believe he was trying to get rid of the clothing he was wearing while he was spotted driving the truck.

When officers approached, Wessels ran and hid in a wooded and rocky area. A K9 was brought in to track him down. When asked why he fled, Wessels said, “I always run from you guys,” according to SPD.

Wessels was arrested and booked for possession of a stolen motor vehicle. Police said more charges may be added in the future.

Wessels has been arrested 58 times. Eleven of those arrests were related to stolen vehicles, according to SPD. He is currently awaiting trial for possessing a stolen Chevy Silverado stemming from an arrest on November 18, 2018.

He is listed as a “Repeat Offender” by the Spokane Police Department’s Crime Analysis Unit, which is a partnership between local and state law enforcement, prosecutors, and the Department of Corrections.

The unit works to find, arrest, and incarcerate “those individuals who have displayed by their actions, a constant disregard for the laws of our community and the rights of others,” according to SPD.

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