Angola (Indiana, US), Dec 15 (IANS): In the end, it turned out that New York resident Joshua Lewis-Brown was too smart for his own good: Riding a stolen car with paper licence plate with registration number scrawled in cryon is not a good idea, after all.

He is now cooling his heels behind bars.

When Indiana troopers came across Lewis-Brown, they initially thought he was a 20-year-old motorist from New York who needed a tow after blowing a tyre on Friday afternoon on I-80 near Angola, Fox News said.

"Trooper (Craig) Woodcox was preparing to oblige Brown in his request. However, a fictitious homemade paper license plate 'DJ39RK' handwritten in crayon on a grocery bag raised obvious suspicion and led to further investigation,a Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Brian Walker was quoted by the news report.

After checking the vehicle identification number, Woodcox found that Lewis-Brown's Toyota Corolla was reported stolen the day before.

Troopers also found that he had never been licensed to drive a motor in any state, and was on probation for grand larceny, the spokesman added.

Lewis-Brown was charged with possession of stolen property and driving without a licence and put behind bars. He also faces charges in Pennsylvania.