A Columbus man was arrested after he was accused of stealing a truck with the owner’s dog inside while it was parked in front of a local residence.
Columbus police were sent to the 300 block of Center Street at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman.
The truck’s owner advised officers that he left the truck running in front of a friend’s home and was carrying groceries into the house when someone took the vehicle with his beagle inside, Harris said.
Columbus police and Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputies saw the stolen truck a short time later and attempted to stop it, Harris said. The truck crashed through two locked gates at a business on South Gladstone Avenue, where the stolen vehicle came to a stop.
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The driver was identified as Richard L. Gahwiller, 43, Columbus, who was arrested on preliminary charges of auto theft, theft and leaving the scene of an accident. He was being held in the Bartholomew County Jail.
The vehicle, as well as the beagle, which was unharmed, were returned to the vehicle owner, Harris said.
