Bryan Kohberger, the man arrested for the murder of 4 University of Idaho students, was pulled over by cops 1.5 miles away from the murder house a couple months before the killings.
The Latah County Sheriff confirms to TMZ ... Kohberger was stopped by police in late August, less than 2 miles from the home where the murders happened, and ticketed for not wearing a seat belt.
And, get this ... Kohberger was driving a white Hyundai Elantra when he was pulled over near the University of Idaho campus, just down the road from where the murders took place only a few months later.
According to the traffic citation, Kohberger was pulled over August 21 at 11:40 PM and he was driving a 2015 white Hyundai Elantra with Pennsylvania license plates.
Idaho Student Murder Investigators In Search of Driver of White Hyundai
Remember ... the quadruple murder happened the night of November 13, and during the investigation police eventually asked the public for help finding a white Hyundai Elantra.
Kohberger was arrested December 30 at his parent's home in Pennsylvania ... he drove there from Washington State with his father before the holidays. He's since been charged with first-degree murder and is on his way back to Idaho.
TMZ broke the story ... Kohberger and his father were stopped twice in Indiana on December 15 during their cross-country trip, and they were driving a white Hyundai Elantra with Washington plates.
During the two traffic stops in Indiana, Kohberger and his father were given verbal warnings and sent on their way.