Athens, GA - Shoplifting Woman Steals Madison Co. Deputy's Patrol Car - Crashes Into Telephone Pole - Escapes

December 17, 2010

onlineathens.com

A Crime Stoppers tip led to Monday night's recovery of a stolen unmarked Thurston County sheriff's patrol car in the parking lot of a Lacey apartment complex.

A woman who later was arrested said she and another person stole the vehicle after they discovered it parked, unlocked, on an Olympia street, with the keys in a pocket of a coat in the car, court papers state.

The woman, Leah Moreno, 25, of Tenino, said she and the accomplice took a bulletproof vest and a zip drive from the car and planned to strip the tires and engine, then set the car afire, court papers state. The accomplice is identified as Daniel Conaty, 22, who has no fixed address.

The car was stolen Nov. 23 in the area of Eskridge Way and Maringo Street in Olympia. It was outside the home of a captain who works in corrections with the Sheriff’s Office.

The car was recovered at a complex at 1220 East St. S.E. after a suspect told a deputy where it was, court papers state.

The car was undamaged, Thurston County Chief Criminal Deputy James Chamberlain said Tuesday. It was missing the emergency lights off the visor and the rear license plate, court papers state.

Moreno and Conaty were being held Tuesday night at the Thurston County Jail on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle. Moreno’s bail was set at $10,000; Conaty’s was $5,000.

A deputy found Moreno at a Tumwater hotel Monday night after law enforcement received a Crime Stoppers tip that she was involved in the theft and was there, Thurston County sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin said Tuesday.

According to court papers:

Moreno led deputies to the stolen car. She said she and Conaty had been prowling vehicles in Olympia when they came across it, and they initially left without stealing it but later returned.

Deputies found two other people in Moreno’s hotel room. They also found illegal narcotics, a stolen identification card and a stolen McLane Fire Department badge. The room’s occupants, who were not arrested, told deputies that “Leah and Daniel had stolen the vehicle and that they had started bragging about the theft around Thanksgiving.” One of the occupants added that Conaty was trying to sell the bulletproof vest.

Deputies found Conaty sleeping in a grocery store parking lot in Lacey and arrested him. His father told deputies he had sold the bulletproof vest; court records do not indicate whether it was recovered.



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A woman who was picked up as a suspect in a Madison County shoplifting case Wednesday night stole a deputy's patrol car and crashed it in Clarke County, officials said.

The woman ran from the wreck on Danielsville Road, but investigators identified her Thursday afternoon and planned to charge her in both counties, according to Madison County Sheriff Kip Thomas.

Two deputies were on their way to Ingles on U.S. Highway 29 to investigate a shoplifting when a resident of Old Danielsville Road in Madison County called 911 to report a strange woman was knocking on the door, Thomas said.

Deputy Joshua Smith peeled off to investigate and soon saw a woman fitting the shoplifter's description on Danielsville Road, between the Madison County line and Harve Mathis Road, the sheriff said.

Smith placed the woman in the back seat of his patrol car and planned to drive her to Ingles to see if employees identified her as the shoplifter, according to Thomas.

But as the deputy retrieved the woman's coat - which contained shoplifted goods - from the side of the road, the woman made a break for it, he said.

"She knocked the (cruiser's) partition open and crawled into the front seat," Thomas said.

"Deputy Smith heard his car's horn blowing from when she fell into it, and as he turned he sprained his knee and fell to the ground," he said.

The woman sped south on Danielsville Road and crashed into a telephone pole at the entrance to the Martha's Cabins mobile home park, 2430 Danielsville Road, according to an Athens-Clarke police report.

Residents saw a woman run through the park, though one or both of her legs seemed to be injured, police said.

Investigators from both counties worked together to identify the woman, and on Thursday a Madison County investigator took out a warrant charging the woman with theft by shoplifting, Thomas said.

An Athens-Clarke police investigator planned to charge the woman with theft by taking a motor vehicle, interference with government property and other crimes, the sheriff said.

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