A stolen car stuck in the snow led to the arrest of an alleged burglar.

Tuesday morning Mono Sheriff Deputies arrested a Ridgecrest man for a burglary at the Virginia Creek Settlement South of Bridgeport.

Officers were on their way to the Virginia Creek Settlement, when dispatch received several calls stating that a vehicle was stuck in the snow on highway 167 that connects to 395 near the north shore of Mono Lake. The stuck vehicle was a gold Kia, the same type of car that the burglar had reportedly been driving, so officers headed over Conway Summit.

When deputies ran the license plate the Kia came back as a stolen vehicle. Deputies arrived on 167 to see the man trying to get the car out of the snow. Knowing the vehicle stolen, and believing that this was the burglary suspect, officers say they arrested the man at gunpoint.

Searches of the suspect, the vehicle and the surrounding area, turned up money, a cash register, and other items later determined to be stolen from the Virginia Creek Settlement, officers say.

Officers arrested 29 year old Keith Gearhart, of Ridgecrest, for burglary, receiving stolen property, vehicle theft, being under the influence of narcotics, and driving under the influence of narcotics.

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