CASPER, Wyo. — A man has been charged in Natrona County Circuit Court with the theft of a prized 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle earlier this month.
Jaelin Miller, 27, was arrested early Tuesday morning after being found unconscious in another stolen vehicle, according to a Casper police lieutenant’s affidavit. Miller also had six active arrest warrants.
Miller is charged with felony theft of the Chevelle, which is valued at around $50,000. He is presumed innocent until proven or pleading guilty.
The Chevelle’s owner reported it stolen from a storage unit in the Old Yellowstone District on Tuesday, Sept. 6 sometime after 1 a.m. There were no signs of forced entry. The owner told police he had the only known key. There were no working security cameras at the storage facility, the report said.
After seeing social media posts related to the theft later in the day, a witness reported to police having seen the Chevelle being dropped off at the garage of an Evansville residence less than two hours after the alleged theft.
On Sept. 10, police responding to the Evansville home for a welfare check also informed the homeowners that they’d received a tip about the stolen Chevelle being on the premises. After being granted consent to search, police located the Chevelle in the garage, the report said.
The homeowner said Miller had asked if he could store a car for him because Miller said his girlfriend would trash it, the affidavit said.
The witness and the homeowners told police that there had also been a passenger in the vehicle when it was dropped off around 3 a.m. Sept. 6. Police say they know the identity of the alleged passenger. No charges have been filed and police are actively seeking him for an interview in the case, Lt. Jeff Bullard told Oil City.
A witness also said that the passenger and driver were picked up by a white sedan after dropping off the Chevelle.
Police also said that one latent fingerprint taken from the Chevelle matched filed prints from Miller “with high confidence.” DNA swabs were also taken from the vehicle and from the handle of the storage unit door.
Bond for Miller was set at $30,000 cash or surety on Wednesday.
