A Mesa bait car enticed another thief Friday, court records show.
Marc A. Garcia, 24, got into the car at 3:37 a.m. at Date and Main Street and drove it about seven blocks before the car’s kill switch was activated.
VIDEO: Watch the surveillance video showing Garcia in the police bait car
After officers arrested Garcia, they found methamphetamine and a pipe for smoking the drug on the passenger’s seat.
Mesa police park the bait car in a way that is “very enticing,” said detective Chris Arvayo, Mesa police spokesman.
Dispatchers are alerted when someone opens the car door and use a remote switch to kill the engine once officers move in, Arvayo said.
“It’s been very effective,” Arvayo said.
Garcia admitted that he took the car without permission, the drugs were his and that he used them shortly before the theft, court documents state.
He was booked on suspicion of theft of means of transportation, possession of dangerous drugs, aggravated DUI, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
