What started as a search for a stolen vehicle that hit a license plate reader turned into a drug arrest on John Wayne Parkway last week.  

Maricopa police spotted a blue Ford Fusion reported stolen from Flagstaff in a Circle K parking lot around 5:45 p.m. on Aug. 24. A man was standing behind the vehicle attempting to block the license plate when the officer pulled up, according to a probable cause statement. 

The man, Rodney Andrew White II, allegedly told police he was using the vehicle with permission from his neighbor, and he had no idea the car was stolen. 

The officer searched White and found what appeared to be a meth pipe and a bag of white residue, later confirmed to be methamphetamine, in his wallet. White told police the pipe was not his and he hadn’t smoked in several days.  

White was arrested on suspicion of felony charges of unlawful use of means of transportation and possession of drug paraphernalia and booked into Pinal County Adult Detention Facility.