Sharp-eyed Gresham safety specialist leads to car thief arrest
Published 11:05 am Tuesday, July 29, 2025
- An alleged car thief was arrested in Gresham. (Courtesy photo: Gresham Police Department)
An alleged prolific car thief was arrested in Gresham thanks to an eagle-eyed Community Safety Specialist.
At 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 23, a non-sworn safety specialist spotted a Kia Soul that had been reported as stolen driving into an apartment parking lot in the 1100 block of Northwest Wallula Avenue.
Gresham Police officers arrived to find the car unoccupied. A suspect was located nearby who was connected to that stolen car by a previous stolen vehicle case. Blaine Lavaque, 29, was taken into custody without incident.
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Lavaque was lodged at the Multnomah County Detention Center and faces unauthorized use of a vehicle and unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle for both stolen car incidents.
The Gresham Community Safety Specialist program has six trained individuals to aid the department in addressing non-emergency concerns. That frees up sworn officers to focus on urgent, high-priority calls.
The safety specialists handle between 25% and 40% of day-shift police reports. They focus on fraud, minor property crimes, missing persons and stolen vehicles. The specialists also serve in a public-facing role, doing park outreach, crash-scene traffic control, and assisting the Neighborhood Engagement Team.
