One week. Two people. Three stolen vehicles.
That's the boiled-down version of what happened last week for a Georgia man and his North Carolina girlfriend.
The story started on Feb. 22 when William Daniel Jewell, 24, apparently took an 18-year-old van from the parking lot in front of the Cherokee County Humane Society's thrift store. He drove the vehicle, known to the Humane Society staff and volunteers as "Betsy," 300 miles to Statesville, N.C.
There, police say Jewell picked up Andrea Paige Bonnell, 20. The two drove to a K&W Cafeteria where Bonnell let Jewell out of the van so he could steal a pickup truck that belonged to one of the restaurant's employees, according to Statesville Police Capt. Bryan Johnson.
Johnson told the AJC that the pair continued to drive the van, at least until it ran out of gas. Statesville police have recovered the vehicle and took it to their impound lot, he said.
Bonnell left Jewell and went back to her house, where Johnson said Statesville found the stolen pickup truck and arrested her.
Jewell is accused of stealing another vehicle near Bonnell's home, Johnson said. Authorities stopped Jewell in that vehicle in Macon County in southwest North Carolina, Johnson said.
Ottis Moore general manager of the Humane Society, said he got a phone call from the Statesville police department Monday saying their van had been found.
"It was a very preliminary report. They got the van. It is drivable," Moore told the AJC Tuesday. "We were glad to hear that it wasn't blown up or burnt up."
Johnson said Statesville police have charged Jewell with possession of a motor vehicle and larceny of a motor vehicle. He has additional charges from Iredell County and Macon County authorities.
Stateville police have charged Bonnell with larceny of a motor vehicle.
Moore said last week he didn’t understand why anyone would want to steal such an old van, one that has more than 350,000 miles on it and doesn’t have a radio or a horn. What’s more, the vehicle can be easily spotted: It’s white with green, teal and orange, and the words “Cherokee County Humane Society” with the organization’s phone number run along the sides.
“If you’re going to commit a felony, you think you’d take a much more modern vehicle that would be inconspicuous,” Moore said. “Why would you take something so obvious?”
The stolen van was spotted in South Carolina, Moore said. Someone went to a convenience store on I-85 near the North Carolina line and got cigarettes, beer and gasoline -- without paying, a store clerk told him.
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