Police had a driver pulled over Sunday night in St. Paul when a man suddenly jumped in her vehicle and stole it.

An officer stopped a driver in the 800 block of West Seventh Street about 6 p.m. because he believed she’d been drinking, said Sgt. Mike Ernster, a St. Paul police spokesman. The officer was carrying out field sobriety tests when the theft happened.

The driver, who owns the vehicle, told police she had a Apple AirTag in her vehicle. Officers used the tracking device and the vehicle’s location was relayed to various police agencies as it traveled in the Twin Cities, Ernster said.

Richfield and Bloomington officers found the vehicle near Nicollet Avenue and 77th Street in Richfield, and took a 39-year-old man into custody. He was identified as the man who stole the woman’s vehicle, according to Ernster.

Police turned the man over to St. Paul officers and he was being booked into the Ramsey County jail Sunday night on suspicion of auto theft.

Police determined the driver they initially stopped was not intoxicated and she was released, with her vehicle later returned to her, Ernster said.

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