Kelowna

A recovered stolen vehicle came with a surprise inside, the thief.

Early Friday morning, a Kelowna RCMP officer was patrolling the downtown area when he spotted a stolen vehicle.

Constable Steve Holmes says the officer saw the van being driven around near 2:30 a.m.

“He queried the licence plate to find that the vehicle had been stolen from a parking lot on Ellis at Queensway on August 24,” says Holmes.

He says with assistance from a second officer, the vehicle was pulled over and the thief, a Kelowna resident, was taken into custody without incident.

“The 37-year-old man, Jason Poppoff, appeared in court on August 28 to face charges of theft over $5,000 and possession of stolen property over $5,000.”

Poppoff was remanded and will appear in court again on September 1.