Couple Arrested for Theft by Helpful Trooper
Indianapolis, IN- A couple was arrested for theft and their vehicle impounded after a State Trooper stopped to offer his assistance with a disabled vehicle.
Yesterday afternoon at approximately 6:30 p.m., Trooper Joshua Graves stopped to assist a couple working on a disabled vehicle on I-70 WB to I-465 NB on the east side of Indianapolis. A second car was parked in front of the disabled car.
Trooper Graves inquired of the male subject if he needed assistance. The subject, identified as WESTLEY A. DEROSSETT, 26, stated the disabled car was his brothers and he had asked him to repair the flat tire and retrieve the car. Trooper Graves observed a flat tire on the passenger rear of the car but also saw that a jack and lug wrench was on the passenger front tire. The passenger front tire was not flat.
A female, identified as KRISTEN SARAH ELIZABETH SOLOMON, 29, was observed removing the battery and Derossett explained that the battery was dead and they were going to get it charged and bring it back.
While speaking with Derossett and Solomon, Graves detected several inconsistencies with their stories about the ownership of the disabled vehicle.
During the course of the investigation Trooper Graves determined that Derossett had an active warrant for theft and he was placed in custody in Graves’s police car.
During this time, the owner of the disabled vehicle arrived on the scene and stated he had a flat on the rear passenger tire earlier and had left to get a spare. When he returned he found the driver’s side tire missing along with articles from inside the vehicle and trunk. He had left again to replace the missing tire. Articles identified as being in the disabled vehicle were observed in the open trunk of the second vehicle that Derossett and Solomon had arrived in. A tire on the second vehicle was also identified as the one removed from the driver’s side of the disabled vehicle.
Derossett and Solomon were each charged with one count of theft, a Class D Felony. They were transported to the Marion County Processing Center and incarcerated without incident.
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MYERS
All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law
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