A man from Licking was arrested twice by the Houston Police Department in unrelated incidents on the evening of Thursday, Dec. 30.
Richard S. Mann, Jr., 25, of 18167 Dorman Road, was first arrested on a Taney County warrant for property damage after he was stopped while driving his gray 1988 Toyota pickup northbound on U.S. 63 at about 8:20 p.m.
An officer noticed that the truck had tags which had apparently expired in September and made the traffic stop. The officer then discovered that Mann’s driver’s license was revoked and he had no proof of insurance.
But the arrest was made based on the warrant and Mann was transported to the Texas County Jail. A check of Mann’s driving history revealed that he had five previous convictions for driving while license revoked and two for driving with no license.
While Mann taken into custody, dispatch advised the officer that Mann was also the suspect in a gasoline theft that had occurred earlier at a station on U.S. Highway 63 in Houston.
The officer spoke to the gas station attendant involved and was told the Mann had pumped $50.50 worth of gas into his truck but tried to pay $5.50. The attendant said Mann had first called out to people around him to bring him the rest of the money, but when nobody would, he swore on his children that he would return with the remaining amount.
The attendant was worried about Mann’s strange behavior and called the station’s boss, who recommended calling the police.
Mann was arrested again for stealing under $500. He told the officer he didn’t believe he had pumped that much gas into his truck and that the attendant was trying to “screw” him.
The officer noted in the report that Mann had admitted to consuming alcohol and methamphetamine earlier the same evening.
The following are other matters dealt with last week by Houston police.