Man writes a bad check for a truck, arrested in Morro Bay

January 21, 2025

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

Officers arrested a 65-year-old man in Morro Bay on Sunday after he allegedly fled in a truck that he stole from a Ford dealership in San Luis Obispo.

Shortly before 11 a.m., Morro Bay police received a stolen vehicle alert from the city’s automated license plate reader system. The alert notified officers of a reported stolen vehicle inside the city limits, according to the Morro Bay Police Department.

Police located the vehicle, a 2024 Ford F-250 in the 700 block of Harbor Street. A 2025 Harley Davidson motorcycle was in the bed of the truck.

Investigators determined the driver, Thomas Oliver Hight, had purchased the vehicle from Perry Ford in San Luis Obispo. However, there were insufficient funds in his account for the payment. The dealership tried to recover the truck from Hight, after which it reported the F-250 as stolen.

Hight returned to Perry Ford to purchase another vehicle. Dealership staff told him to pay for the F-250 or relinquish the truck. Hight refused and later fled with the truck. He damaged landscaping as a Perry Ford employee attempted to block Hight from leaving the dealership.

Officers arrested Hight and booked him in San Luis Obispo County Jail on a vehicle theft charge. He remains in custody with his bail set at $70,000, according to the SLO County Sheriff’s Office website.

Morro Bay police contacted the San Luis Obispo and Fresno police departments and advised them of Hight’s arrest and pending cases from the Ford dealership and from a Harley dealership.

An investigation into the case remains ongoing. Investigators ask that anyone who witnessed the incident or who has information about the case contact Sergeant Nicole Taylor at (805) 772-6233 or San Luis Obispo County Crime Stoppers at (805) 549-STOP.

 


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