Woman in possession of stolen Jeep claims it was a 'birthday tip' from a former customer at Waffle House: police

A woman in Oklahoma claimed the stolen Jeep she was driving was a "birthday tip" from a former customer of hers from when she worked at Waffle House.

The Tulsa Police Department said it received an alert from a safety camera about a stolen white Jeep Liberty. The department's Real Time Information Center continued to track the vehicle until officers could initiate a traffic stop.

During the traffic stop, the driver of the vehicle, identified as Angela Harrison, claimed she was at a gas station just an hour before and ran into a former customer of hers from when she worked at Waffle House. According to police, Harrison told the officers the customer gave her $10 cash and the Jeep Liberty because her 53rd birthday was coming up in a few weeks.

Tulsa PD said the vehicle was reported stolen before Christmas and detectives had already obtained surveillance photo of Harrison in the vehicle from Jan. 14. Police said Harrison identified herself as the woman in the photo but could not explain how she could have been in possession of the vehicle in January when she claimed it was gifted to her just an hour before.

According to police, the owner of the Jeep died last year. The Jeep was returned to his family and Harrison was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle, police said.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.