DECATUR — Melissa Lynn Walker, 28, with accomplice Glenn Dale Hamby, 32, allegedly stole a pickup truck out of the Dollar General Store parking lot in Decatur last month.
The 1994 Dodge Ram pickup was stolen on March 18, after the truck’s driver and passenger left it parked at the Dollar General Store with the keys inside. In addition, the owner’s dog was stolen, along with a number of other items inside the truck, including the vehicle’s stereo system, two iPods, video games, CDs and a purse, according to a report from the Decatur Police Department.
The truck was recovered in Oklahoma on March 31. Mark Anthony Fox, 47, wasfound driving the truck and was arrested on outstanding warrants in both Oklahoma and Benton County. The items inside the truck, including the dog, were not located.
An investigation of another vehicle theft by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office led Decatur police to Walker and Hamby on April 18. Walker was being held in the Cherokee County Detention Center, but Hamby had been released on bond on April 17, the report stated.
During an interview, Walker told Decatur police that she and Hamby needed a ride back to Tahlequah, Okla., so they began looking for a vehicle with keys in the ignition, according to a report from the Decatur Police Department. Walker said she stole the truck from the Decatur Dollar Store parking lot and then picked up Hamby, the report states.
Walker also told Decatur police that she and Hamby traded the truck to Fox in exchange for Oxycotin. Walker said she gave the dog to a Hispanic woman in Tahlequah and threw the purse out the window. She said the stereo system was in the truck when they traded it to Fox, but she could not remember what happened to the other items, the report states.
Walker is being held in the Cherokee County Detention Center on other charges, according to the report, and the Decatur police obtained a warrant for her with charges of felony theft of property.
News, Pages 3 on 05/02/2012