Woman Arrested After Running from Stolen Vehicle

On Wednesday, December 6, 2023, at about 12:38 p.m., Deputies from the Washington County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to a parking lot in the 3000 block of SW 187th Avenue to investigate a suspicious vehicle after a member of the community reported it.

The caller noticed a light-colored Ford pickup with no plates in a nearby parking lot with two people inside, not moving, and trash scattered around the vehicle.

The deputy contacted the occupants and learned shortly after the vehicle was stolen out of Oakland, California. The driver sped off and then abandoned the truck near the intersection of SW 198th Avenue and SW Tualatin Valley Highway.

Deputies called for support from a K9 unit to help locate the fleeing driver. Deputies also learned the driver ran into a vacant apartment unit nearby.

When the deputies called out to the driver from outside the apartment, the driver refused to come out. K9 Griff was sent in to locate the driver, who was found hiding behind a door. The driver was taken into custody and treated at the scene by medical personnel for a dog bite they received from K9 Griff. Deputies identified the driver as 55-year-old Karen Johnson of Oakland, California.

Johnson was lodged in the Washington County Jail for the following charges:

• Possession of a stolen vehicle
• Attempting to elude while driving a motor vehicle
• Attempting to elude on foot from a motor vehicle
• Criminal trespass in the first degree

The passenger was not located during the search.

The Sheriff’s Office thanks the community members for their help in locating Johnson and recovering the stolen Ford.