Pair alleged to have stolen truck after drug party
A Neshoba County man and a woman have been arrested and charged in connection with a drug and alcohol-fueled scheme to steal thousands of dollars in property from a Louisiana man.
Keaton Abel, 26, 10061 Road 446, was arrested and charged with burglary, grand larceny, petit larceny, public drunk, and leaving the scene of an accident, according to Neshoba County Sheriff Eric Clark.
His alleged accomplice, Destiny Spink, 28, 10323 Highway 16 West, was arrested and charged with grand larceny and burglary.
According to Clark, the pair was charged after they allegedly took personal items from a rented box truck belonging to a 44-year-old Louisiana man in the early morning hours of Jan. 3.
Clark said Abel and Spink met the victim at the Golden Moon Casino at about 11 p.m. on Jan. 2. The three soon left the casino and went to a residence on Highway 486, where Clark says they drank and did drugs, specifically mushrooms.
The victim told investigators that he does not remember what happened between about 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. Investigators believe during this period that Spink and Abel returned to the Golden Moon parking lot and took the victim’s box truck containing his belongings. In addition to the keys to the truck, they also took his wallet, phone, and other personal items.
Abel drove the truck, and Spink followed in her vehicle, Clark said.
They took the truck to a house on Road 432 in the Good Hope Community and unloaded all of the victim’s personal items into a shed unbeknownst to the shed’s owner.
Abel would then return to the house on Road 486 and coerce the victim into his rented box truck while pretending to have a gun, the victim told investigators.
Clark said Abel intended to drive the victim to Spink’s residence on Highway 16 West.
On the way to Spink’s house, Clark said the victim jumped out of the vehicle when Abel stopped at a stop sign on Dogwood Lane. Abel drove off with the truck, and the victim was able to escape. At about 5 a.m., the victim made contact with a resident on Dogwood Lane and was able to call 9-1-1.
Abel would be caught soon after intoxicated and heading north on Road 559 about a half mile from where he had wrecked and abandoned the box truck in a field near the intersection of Road 559 and Road 616.
At 5:30 a.m., Philadelphia Police stopped Spink on Main Street near Walmart for a driving infraction. Investigators with the Neshoba County Sheriff’s Office met PPD officers at the traffic stop and brought Spink in for questioning.
Clark said all the items from the box truck were recovered but investigators could not recover the victim’s wallet or identification.