Police jail auto theft suspects
Published 3:00 am Friday, February 24, 2017
The two suspects in the theft of a vehicle from C&H Auto Sales turned themselves in on Wednesday after being charged with first-degree theft of property in January.
Troy Police Chief Randall Barr said Billy Neal Sims, 27, and Evelyn Shauntel Loveless, 30, were reported to have driven a car off the dealer’s lot for a test and never returned it. The suspects even filled out some of the paperwork to buy the car before they took it home.
The car was a silver 2012 Toyota Corolla valued at nearly $15,000.
That was October 25, 2016. The police department began attempts to contact Sims and Loveless and retrieve the car on December 30 and only handed down the theft of property charges on January 17 after police failed to make contact with them.
Central Alabama CrimeStoppers picked up the story and publicized the case further on Monday.
Shortly after, Barr said that the pair called the dealership and informed them that they had left the car on the side of the road.
“The CrimeStoppers release and the public awareness I think prompted them to go ahead and turn themselves in so we could bring some closure to this case,” Barr said.
Sims and Loveless were booked into the Pike County Jail on Wednesday and are each being held on a $3,500 bond.