Stolen Vehicle Recovered After License Plate Reader Camera Alert

Published Sep 24, 2026 5:53 pm

Angels Camp Police Photo

Angels Camp, CA – A stolen vehicle was recovered using a license plate reader camera that alerted an Angels Camp Police officer to stop it, finding 15 occupants inside.

An alert by a Flock Safety automated license plate reader (ALPR) recently identified a stolen vehicle traveling in the 100 block of North Main Street, near Dogtown Road. After matching the vehicle’s description and verifying it was still listed as stolen, an officer issued a Be-on-the-Lookout, or BOLO, to all law enforcement in Calaveras County.

Subsequently, the officer spotted the vehicle in the Frog Jump Plaza at 51 North Main Street. Inside were 58-year-old James Daniel West, of Angels Camp, and 55-year-old Louise Marie Walsh, of San Andreas, but they were not alone. A look around the vehicle uncovered 13 cats in various areas of the car.

West was arrested for felony vehicle theft and possession of a stolen vehicle while Walsh was handcuffed for two outstanding felony theft-related warrants out of Tuolumne County. Police reported that the cats were turned over to the Calaveras County Animal Control and the vehicle was returned to its registered owner.