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

DATE: TUESDAY, July 20, 1993                   TAG: 9307200003
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

2 INDICTED IN TRUCK'S DESTRUCTION

When his vehicle disappeared in May, James Clifton Kelly suspected he was the victim of something other than a typical theft ring.

After all, why would anyone steal a rusted-out 1979 pickup?

Kelly checked with salvage dealers and discovered that, indeed, his pickup had been sold for scrap.

Too late to save his vehicle from the car shredder, Kelly gathered enough evidence to persuade police to bring charges against owners of a Salem garage.

James Anthony Camper, 55, and Mark Anthony Camper, 25, were indicted Friday on one count each of grand larceny.

Attorneys for the Campers contend that the whole episode was a misunderstanding, not a criminal act.

The attorneys say that a salvage dealer who was picking up vehicles at Camper's Garage on Florida Street inadvertently hauled away Kelly's pickup, which was parked nearby.

"It's an absolute mistake," said Charlie Phillips, a Salem lawyer representing Mark Camper.

But Salem Police Det. D.S. Rhodenizer said there is evidence to suggest the Campers ordered the truck to be taken away - even though they knew it belonged to someone else.

"We have reason to believe they knew it wasn't an abandoned vehicle," Commonwealth's Attorney Fred King said.

by CNB