Traffic stop for stolen plate leads to arrest

By: Staff reports | Statesville Record & Landmark
Published: February 11, 2012

A traffic stop on Thursday resulted in charges against a Bennettsville, S.C., woman and a Charlotte man.

Tammy Lynn Hinson, 37, was charged with possession of stolen property and Averin Washington, 42, was charged with misdemeanor larceny. Other charges may be pending.

Detective Nathan Speaks of the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office spotted a Jeep Cherokee on North Center Street Thursday afternoon when the vehicle made an abrupt turn and the driver failed to signal the turn, said Sheriff Phil Redmond.

Speaks checked the vehicle’s registration and found the plate was listed as stolen from a vehicle in the city of Statesville, Redmond said.

Speaks said Hinson indicated she was lost. He then asked her about the stolen plate, and she said her boyfriend, Washington, had found it on the side of the road, Speaks said.

Washington told Speaks that Hinson needed a tag, so he found the one on the side of the road, but he later admitted he’d stolen the plate, Speaks said. He said he took the tag from a vehicle somewhere in the area of Garner Bagnal Boulevard, reports indicate.

Speaks also learned that Washington was wanted on a warrant from South Carolina for failure to pay child support.