VALLEJO (California) - THE California Highway Patrol say a man stole a car to make a court appearance on a previous auto theft charge.

The patrol says 24-year-old Samuel Botchvaroff, of Oakland, was arrested on Tuesday after he left his arraignment at the Vallejo courthouse on auto theft charges.

He was booked into Solano County Jail on suspicion of auto theft and possession of stolen property.

Authorities were looking for the stolen car after its tracking system alerted them about the theft. The car was stolen from Oakland.

They say Botchvaroff told officers his own car had been impounded and that he had no other way to get to his arraignment.

No details about the previous theft charge were immediately available. Calls to the highway patrol and the jail were not immediately returned on Friday. -- AP