A teenager on probation for car theft has been arrested after court documents relating to that car theft were found alongside identifiable personal items in a second stolen car. These items were subsequently collected from the police station by the suspect, who arrived in a third stolen vehicle.

Carnell Eugene Butler, 18, "now faces charges in three stolen car cases," reports the Associated Press.

Butler, of of St Petersburg in Florida, is alleged to have stolen a Nissan Infiniti on 4 October.

Officers said they had found "personal items and a packet of court documents" belonging to Butler in the car, according to WFLA.

A detective contacted a relative of Butler at his home, and Butler subsequently arranged to attend the police headquarters to collect items from his previous arrest.

Butler was arrested upon arrival, when keys to a Hyundai Sonata were found in his pocket.

Acting on a hunch, the detective found [a stolen] Sonata parked a block away from police headquarters. It turned out that Butler had driven the stolen car to the police department.

WFLA reported that Butler was arrested on two counts of grand theft of a motor vehicle, for violation of probation, and for an additional two counts of burglary of an occupied dwelling. ®