ROMNEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A West Virginia State Police investigation into a stolen truck led to the recovery of multiple stolen vehicles, firearms, and the arrest of three individuals with felony records.
The case began on Saturday, March 1, when Cpl. D.A. Bowland launched an investigation into the theft of a Chevrolet 2500 Frontier Communications truck from Romney.
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The vehicle’s GPS later pinged near Bedford, PA, prompting follow-up investigations in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
On Friday, March 7, Sr. Tpr. S.W. Rigsby received a report of a stolen GMC Sierra truck taken approximately a quarter mile from the site of the stolen Frontier truck.
The following day, Cumberland, MD, police located the stolen GMC truck, which was hauling a stolen trailer.
Officers arrested the driver, 30-year-old Lindsey Teresi of Cumberland, MD, while a male passenger fled the scene in the stolen Frontier truck, still pulling a trailer. The GMC truck was returned to its owner.
The search continued on Sunday, March 9, when Hampshire County deputies found the stolen Frontier truck at a campground west of Romney.
Cpl. Bowland executed a search warrant at the site, uncovering a stolen camper linked to the suspects.
Authorities also found a suspected stolen side-by-side vehicle, a trailer, generators, and 11 firearms—including pistols, an illegal AR-15, and other rifles.
Two suspects, 43-year-old Johnathan Church of Goldsboro, MD, and 43-year-old Jarel Schaefer of Denton, MD, were arrested at the campground.
Both were convicted felons and fugitives wanted by multiple agencies in Maryland and Delaware.
They were charged with grand larceny, possession of stolen property, felon in possession of firearms, conspiracy, and fugitive from justice.
The total value of the recovered stolen property is estimated at $70,000.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the West Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI) are assisting in the ongoing investigation.
