Man charged with theft of vehicle
Sunday, December 17, 2000
Stagecoach — A 32-year-old Stagecoach man was charged with aggregated criminal vehicle theft and criminal mischief for stealing a ranch truck, abandoning it in a field and damaging the engine.
Troy O'Neil allegedly took a 1989 Ford pickup, owned by Jim Stetson, off Stetson's ranch on County Road 14 and drove it into a field off C.R. 16, across from the Wagon Wheel condominiums in Stagecoach. He allegedly left it running, which overheated the radiator, Routt Count deputy Troy McDaniel said.
"It's suspected that the motor seized up," he said.
Because the radiator and engine damage will cost more than $500 to fix, O'Neil was charged with a higher offense of aggregated motor vehicle theft and criminal mischief, McDaniel said.
It's suspected that two other men were with O'Neil in the truck, but McDaniel has not contacted them yet.
O'Neil was charged at about 5 p.m. Monday and was released on a $5,000 bond. He is scheduled to return to the Routt County Courthouse at 9 a.m. Jan. 9 to answer to the charges, McDaniel said. Both charges are class four felonies and each carries a possible sentence of two to six years in prison and a $2,000 to $5,000 fine, McDaniel said. He suspected the charges would probably be combined.
Stetson reported the truck missing in the early morning hours of Dec. 9. McDaniel and county investigator Rachelle Redmond found the pickup later that day.
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