17-0323
DID UNLICENSED DRIVER STEAL TRUCK, THEN TAKE IT TO OWNER’S BUSINESS?
By Marc Robertson
A Cotulla man found himself behind bars late Wednesday, March 22, on charges related to his apparent theft of a commercial truck and criminal trespass at the vehicle owner’s business premises.
Identified as 49-year-old Rodney Morgan, the man had been driving a Freightliner flatbed utility truck on Main Street south of downtown Cotulla near the Nueces River when he was stopped by La Salle County Precinct 2 Constable Rene Maldonado for driving the vehicle through a residential neighborhood where heavy trucks are barred. Constable Maldonado noted in his report that he had earlier seen the vehicle traveling on Leona Street. A roadside interview revealed that Morgan had neither a valid driver’s license nor a commercial vehicle license; further investigations revealed that he did not have permission to drive the vehicle and that he is not an employee of the vehicle’s owner, Lee Peters, or the business, Cotulla Fish Hatchery.
Morgan had reportedly driven the truck from a service garage beside the IH-35 access road in Cotulla to the opposite end of town, where he steered the vehicle into the fish hatchery driveway.
A check on Morgan’s identification revealed that he is a former employee of the Cotulla Fish Hatchery and that a criminal trespass warning had been issued for himthe previous day upon a complaint made by Peters. Morgan told the constable that he was aware of the criminal trespass warning and that he had kept the vehicle’s keys for almost two weeks. He also indicated that he intended to collect $800 from Peters.
Constable Maldonado was assisted in the case by Deputies Andres Flores and Juan Mirelez, who investigated the manner in which Morgan had allegedly gained access to the commercial vehicle. Deputies Alfredo Gonzalez, Jose Cardenas and Enrique Velez also assisted.
“We discovered that the vehicle had been parked at a garage for repairs and that Morgan may have talked his way into being allowed to take it,” Deputy Mirelez said. “This scenario raises more questions, because we have since learned that Mr. Peters had left strict instructions at the garage that no one else was to take that truck, and that he had made a point of telling the garage employees not to release the truck to Rodney Morgan.”
Morgan was remanded into custody on charges of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle – a state jail felony – and for driving while his license is suspended with a previous conviction, as well as on the criminal trespass charge for returning to the premises. He remains at the La Salle County Jail in lieu of bond.