License plate reader aids in conviction

License plate readers recently installed in Shafter led to the arrest, prosecution and conviction of a Shafter man after the theft of a car and the high-speed chase that followed.

Arturo Saldivar, Jr., was found guilty of felony evading a peace officer, receipt of stolen property, and driving a vehicle without the consent of the owner.

Saldivar is scheduled to be sentenced in the Shafter Courthouse on Tuesday, Oct. 22, where he faces a possible five years in prison.

The District Attorney's office said on Sept. 20, 2023, at around 10:54 p.m., an officer with the McFarland Police Department received a license plate reader alert regarding a stolen vehicle. The officer went to the location of the alert and shortly found the vehicle.

The officer tried to stop the vehicle, however, the car accelerated at a high rate of speed. During the pursuit, the driver, identified as Saldivar, reached speeds of 95 mph and drove in the opposite lane of travel at various times. The officer ultimately lost a visual of Saldivar and ended his pursuit.

According to the DA's office, about one hour later, a deputy saw Saldivar pulling out of an apartment complex in Wasco. After seeing Saldivar in the driver's seat of the vehicle, the deputy tried to do a traffic stop, however, Saldivar began to accelerate at a high rate of speed through a residential neighborhood.

Saldivar was apprehended in part because the license plate readers in the county communicate with each other and alerted law enforcement that the vehicle that Saldivar was driving was stolen.

Shafter had such cameras installed just a few months ago, linking them to the new technology in Kern County.