May 5, 2005 By Josh Yoder - Record Staff Writer

Jesse Barnett Steward, 16, of Twenty-third Avenue Lane, NE, is wanted for the theft of an unmarked squad car belonging to Chief Gary Lafone of the Conover Police Department.

The car was stolen from Lafone’s home on Thirty-third Avenue Drive, NE, while he was out of town.

Lafone believes the theft was planned because the key to the car was stolen the previous week. The car usually sits in his driveway, but on April 9 he moved the vehicle to a lot across the street so he could mow the grass. When he returned to the unlocked car, the spare key was missing.

The car was recovered April 17 in the parking lot of St. Stephens Elementary School, said Maj. Coy Reid of the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office. About $900 in equipment, including ammunition and plates from a bulletproof vest, was missing from the car.

No guns were in the car when it was stolen, Reid said.

Investigators received a tip Wednesday and recovered property from the police car and two other vehicles stolen in the area in April. A truck and a van, each carrying about $7,000 in tools, were reported stolen earlier that month. Many of the tools were recovered Wednesday.

All three vehicles were found near St. Stephens Elementary, Reid said.

Reid said Steward was seen flashing the squad car’s blue lights.

Investigators have warrants for the teen’s arrest, and believe he’s still in the area.

Lafone said he feels sympathy for anyone who’s ever had a vehicle stolen.

"It’s a sick feeling when you come around the corner and see that a car that’s supposed to be there isn’t there," he said. "Luckily, it wasn’t damaged."

Can you help?

Anyone with information about Jesse Barnett Steward is asked to call the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office at 464-3112.

Back