Car thief sentenced to stayed prison term
Published 10:11 am Friday, October 14, 2016
A man was sentenced to a 15-month stayed prison term for stealing a truck from an Austin auto dealer in November 2014.
Corey Alan Thorp, 20, was sentenced in Mower County District Court Thursday to the 15-month term, which will be stayed over five years of probation, for a November 2014 charge for two counts of felony theft. He must serve 50 hours of community service and he must abide by several conditions.
Thorp pleaded not guilty to both charges June 4, 2015, but changed his plea Thursday to guilty for one count while the second count was dismissed.
On Nov. 28, 2014, at about 9:18 p.m., the Mower County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to Countryside Auto Sales regarding a theft of a 1996 Chevrolet pickup truck.
The owner of the business told officers that Thorp took the truck for a test drive at 2 p.m. and had not returned it, according to the complaint.
Officers entered the vehicle into the state system as stolen and it was sent to surrounding counties.
Officers tried to make contact with Thorp at his Austin address, but the defendant was not home; however, his roommate was told to call police if Thorp returned home.
A short time later, the roommate called and told police Thorp was on his way to the Law Enforcement Center (LEC) to meet with officers, but he never appeared at the LEC.
Two days later on Nov. 30, police learned the stolen truck was recovered in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Police officers spoke with the La Crosse Police Department, who told them the truck had been involved in a police pursuit, which ended when Thorp rolled the vehicle.
Thorp was injured in the crash and taken to a local hospital. The truck was badly damaged and towed from the scene.