(KRON) -- A Santa Rosa man who is accused of stealing a car and driving to Healdsburg was arrested after striking up a casual conversation with a police officer who was looking for him, according to authorities. On Wednesday morning just before 8:30 a.m., the Healdsburg Police Department received a n alert from its Flock license plate reader system that a stolen Mini Cooper had entered its jurisdiction. Responding officers began to search for the stolen car, and it was eventually found unoccupied in the Safeway parking lot. Controversial surveillance camera company Flock Safety reducing staff amid backlash “While officers were watching the vehicle, a male subject matching the physical description of the driver approached an officer on foot and asked for the current time,” Healdsburg PD wrote. As a conversation developed, authorities said the man, later identified as 45-year-old Nicholas James, asked the officer if he was looking for somebody. The two continued to talk, and James mentioned he was parked down the street. The officer asked what type of vehicle he drove. James replied that it was a Mini Cooper, HPD said. (Photo: Healdsburg Police Department) James was “immediately detained,” HPD said, and later allegedly confessed to stealing the car. He was booked into the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility on vehicle theft charges. The Mini Cooper was returned to its rightful owner. ...read more read less