The following information is gleaned from incident reports, which are public record, from the Jones County Sheriff’s Department and Gray Police Department Feb. 27, 2025.
Feb. 27
Suspicious theft and accident
Deputy Langston was dispatched to a residence in reference to a stolen vehicle call and the deputy was given a description of the vehicle. When Langston arrived on scene, he spoke with the female complainant that advised she parked her vehicle in the backyard that night when she got home and when she woke up, the vehicle was missing.
The female advised Langston that she had left the vehicle unlocked and the keys inside.
Langston asked the female for the tag number of the vehicle. The female complainant then advised the deputy that the vehicle did not belong to her, that she was borrowing it. Langston advised the female that he would check the FLOCK cameras and see if he got a hit off the description of the vehicle so he could get a tag number. The deputy returned to his patrol car and started checking FLOCK cameras. While doing so, dispatch called the deputy and advised him they received a phone call from a female that stated there was a vehicle wrecked on Chapman Road near Linda Drive. Langston advised the female complainant that he would go check the area and see if it was her friend’s vehicle that she borrowed. When the deputy arrived at the location, he observed a matching vehicle in the woods off the roadway on Chapman Road. Langston ran the tag number and was able to verify that it was the vehicle in question.
The deputy contacted the female and advised her the vehicle had been found. Langston had the next available wrecker service pull the vehicle out of the woods. Once the vehicle was out, Langston opened the door and could smell the odor of alcohol coming from inside the vehicle. Langston checked between the front seats and located the female complainant’s purse with her bank cards and other cards inside. While the deputy was on the scene, an unidentified subject stopped and said they knew the female complainant and where she worked. The subject advised Langston that they believe the last time they saw the female she was intoxicated. The subject also advised the deputy that they believed the female complainant was possibly intoxicated, crashed the car herself and had someone come pick her up from the accident. The passerby did not approach the vehicle at all, and the assumption of alcohol being involved aligned with the evidence Langston had at the scene. The deputy returned to the residence of the female complainant and advised her from now on lock the car doors and do not leave the keys inside the vehicle. Langston then advised the female of the odor of alcohol in the vehicle, nothing in the vehicle was taken, and the lack of a driver made it seem suspicious. Langston also advised her that it seemed as if she was intoxicated, wrecked the vehicle, then got a ride home.
Langston will follow up on all the information given to him.
