An officer was dispatched to the Corner Express Shell station at about 1:40 a.m. Feb. 11 after a Houston woman reported a theft.
The woman had told 911 that she had numerous items worth about $200 swiped from her by a man and woman who had given her a ride from Walmart. The woman, 50, told the officer that after she shopped at the store, she went to the front and discovered rain was falling. She said she then asked a couple also exiting the store if they would give her a ride to her Chestnut Street residence if she gave them $5 for gas money.
The woman told the officer the couple agreed. But she said that when they arrived at her residence and went to the back of the black Chevrolet pickup to retrieve her goods, the vehicle drove away before she got anything.
The officer viewed store surveillance video of the two suspects, and at about 2:45 a.m. a truck matching the description of their vehicle was observed traveling west on Highway 17. The officer stopped the truck and made contact with its occupants, and recognized the man and woman from the video, who were determined to be from Cabool.
When questioned, the man admitted to driving off because he believed the passenger wasn’t going to pay the $5. He said all the woman’s property was now at a house in Cabool.
Contact was again made with the victim, and she reportedly said she would not pursue charges if all of her items were returned. An assisting Texas County Sheriff’s Department deputy drove the man to Cabool to retrieve the woman’s property, and it was returned to her at about 4 a.m.
•Thomas A. Sawyer, 17, of 16883 Ridge Road at Houston, was arrested for having an active Wright County warrant for failure to appear after a traffic stop on Highway 17 at about 11:40 p.m. Feb. 9. An officer made the stop after observing a white AMC Eagle with an inoperable license plate light traveling on Thomasville Road.
Sawyer was taken to the Texas County Jail and released after posting $250 bond.