An automated license plate reader helped Salina police nab a Hutchinson man accused of stealing a pickup on Friday.

An officer was in the 800 block of North Santa Fe early Friday afternoon when the reader picked up on the plate of a 2004 Ford F250 pickup that had been reported stolen in Hutchinson, Salina Police Detective Sergeant David Villanueva said Monday. As the officer turned around to stop the vehicle, it fled the area. The pickup was later seen in the 400 block of South Broadway, Villanueva said. It was finally stopped at mile marker 91 on southbound Interstate 135, he said.

Ronald Pierson, 56, of Hutchinson, was arrested on suspicion of felony possession of stolen property, Villanueva said.

The owner of the pickup knew Pierson, but had not given him permission to drive the vehicle, Villanueva said. The pickup was valued at $5,000, he added.