Yucaipa Man Accused Of Stealing Truck, Dump Trailer

PALM SPRINGS, CA — A Yucaipa man was in custody Thursday for allegedly stealing a pickup truck with an attached trailer from a downtown Palm Springs parking lot.

Mitchell Pierson, 50, is accused of stealing a 2002 Ford F350 truck and 2006 dump trailer on Oct. 7. The theft was reported to Palm Springs police by a Yucca Valley resident who said his truck and trailer was missing from a parking lot in the 100 block of North Calle El Segundo.

San Bernardino sheriff's deputies recovered the truck and trailer separately from one another in Yucaipa more than a month after the alleged theft.

The stolen truck was found on Nov. 18 near the intersection of Primrose Drive and Lantana Avenue, while the trailer was found in the 35000 block of Avenue H, according to sheriff's deputies.

"During the investigation, Mitchell Pierson was identified as a possible suspect in the thefts and deputies focused on his role in this crime," the sheriff's department said, though investigators did not elaborate on how Pierson was identified as a suspect.

On Tuesday, Pierson turned himself into the Yucaipa sheriff's station and was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft, as well as for outstanding arrest warrants.

He was booked into the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino, where he was being held on $100,000 bail.

— By City News Service / Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone