PATRICK COUNTY CAR THIEF LEAVES TRAIL OF WRECKAGE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 2, 1992                   TAG: 9202020238
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short
PATRICK COUNTY CAR THIEF LEAVES TRAIL OF WRECKAGE
A car thief, who had a real stroke of bad luck - or perhaps was just a bad driver - littered the Claudville area of Patrick County with wrecked vehicles Friday night and Saturday morning.
The thief made off with three trucks and two cars, wrecked four of them and abandoned the fifth apparently because of mechanical problems, Patrick Sheriff Jay E. Gregory said Saturday.
The adventure apparently began in Mount Airy, N.C., about 10 miles from Claudville, when someone drove away a 1986 Camaro from an electrical company parking lot.
The Camaro was found wrecked in a field in Claudville. Trucks belonging to Davis Elliott Contractors and Claudville resident Hava Heath were found wrecked on Va. 773 and 646. Kermit Nunn's 1977 Chevrolet truck was abandoned with a loose battery cable on Va. 103.
Finally, Harold Slate's slightly damaged 1991 Pontiac Grand Am was found parked at a school in Stokes County, N.C., also about 10 miles from the Claudville area.
The thief is still missing.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB