County teen charged with Oneida thefts

By: Greg Bird

A 17-year old McCreary County man is facing several charges in Scott County, Tennessee after allegedly stealing an Oneida Special Schools District bus along with two other vehicles and apparently attempting to use one of the vehicles to rob a Winfield liquor store.

A two-month investigation by the Oneida Police Department into the theft was wrapped up last weekend after the teen was arrested in McCreary County following the theft of another vehicle last Friday night.

The teen, whose name is not being released due to his age, reportedly stole a vehicle from the Capitol 3 theater in Oneida after an employee started the car to warm it up and went back inside the building.

Following the theft Oneida Police entered the vehicle information into a national crime database. Not long later they received information after the teen was stopped in McCreary County on a traffic violation.

On Saturday the young man was arrested by the McCreary County Sheriff’s Department and turned over to Oneida Police.

Further investigation linked the teen to the bus theft, and also to another crime committed on that same day.

On October 3 the teen allegedly stole the school bus from a ball park behind the Oneida High School football field following a football game. The bus was found by a citizen at 4 a.m. that morning abandoned on a side road after the thief apparently couldn’t turn the vehicle around. The thief also appeared to have tried to set the bus on fire after abandoning it, but was unsuccessful.

Using surveillance footage from local businesses authorities linked the teen to both vehicle thefts and the attempted break in. One video showed the bus in the WalMart parking lot, where seven vehicles were damaged after being hit by the stolen bus.

Police believe the youth next stole a pick up truck and used the vehicle to try and break in to the Stone Cold Liquor Store in Winfield that same evening.

Apparently the same subject tried to use the stolen truck to ram into the front of the store in an attempt to make entry, but was unsuccessful both times, and officers later found the truck abandoned and burned down a hillside.

Surveillance footage from the store gave police their best look at the face of the subject, but was not of good enough quality to identify him. Officials released an image with the hopes of the public being able to assist putting a name to the face.

He is being charged with two counts of felony theft and vandalism. Additional theft, burglary and arson charges may be pending.