Truckee vehicle thief tied to killing in Washington
Sierra Sun and wire reports
A man on the run for the dismemberment killing of his girlfriend in Washington state is believed to have stolen a vehicle from a Truckee gas station on Wednesday.
Michael Ray Faler, 39, is sought on warrants alleging second-degree murder and first-degree robbery, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
At about 1 p.m. Wednesday, Faler stole a Subaru from a woman as she was pumping gas at the Union 76 station on Deerfield Drive in Truckee, according to Truckee police reports. Faler fled the scene onto Interstate 80, dragging remnants of the gas pump and hose. The victim was not injured and the vehicle had not been located as of Thursday, said Truckee police Lt. Harwood Mitchell.
Upon further investigation, police discovered Faler had left another car at the gas station. That car had been reported stolen from Stanwood, Wash., earlier in the week.
Faler allegedly had taken the vehicle at knifepoint from a grocery store in Stanwood, and then switched vehicles in Truckee.
Investigators said they found evidence in Faler’s Granite Falls, Wash., home that he had dismembered his 33-year-old live-in girlfriend.
Faler, who authorities said has an affinity for “edged weapons,” is described as being “armed and dangerous,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell said he doesn’t believe Faler is still in Truckee.
Faler was formerly institutionalized for “acute mental illness,” according to a Snohomish County news release.
Faler is described as a white male, 5-foot-10, 220 pounds, with a shaved head. The vehicle stolen from Truckee in which Faler was last seen driving is described as a dark blue 1997 Subaru Legacy with California license plates 3UDK292.
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