MITCHELL – A Mitchell man was arrested after police say he stole a vehicle and took money from a deceased man’s bank account.
On November 28, 2022, a woman called the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department to report the theft of a wallet and vehicle from 30 Sams Road.
According to a probable cause affidavit, on that day, the woman reported the day before her father had passed away. When she arrived at her father’s home the next day she discovered her father’s wallet and his car a gray 2005 Nissan Sentra were missing.
The woman said 30-year-old Justin Lacey, of Mitchell, who was a farm hand for her father possibly had the vehicle. She also reported she went online and found more than $917 had been taken from her father’s bank account the night before at Walmart.
The woman told police she believed Lacey had taken the wallet the day he had found her father unresponsive at the home on Sams Road
Officers then went to Hoosier Hills Credit Union and discovered several suspicious transactions on the man’s account totaling more than $2,400.
Police then received a call reporting, Lacey had arrived back at the home and given the female the debit card. Lacey told the woman he was given the debit card to purchase parts for the deceased male’s vehicle before his death. Lacey was driving the deceased man’s vehicle.
Later that day, police discovered video footage of Lacey using the card at Walmart.
The family then discovered a Springfield XD 9mm pistol was also missing from the home.
On December 10th officers located Lacey driving the vehicle in the 1000 block of Mill Creek Road. The officer knew Lacey was driving on a suspended driver’s license and initiated a traffic stop. Lacey was detained.
Lacey told the officer he was working on the vehicle prior to the man’s death and family members knew this. He told police he had the transmission apart and could not return the vehicle until he had fixed it. However, police say Lacey was not telling the truth and they had photos of Lacey driving the vehicle. He then admitted he had driven the vehicle to and from the store on different occasions. When asked about the wallet, Lacey told the officer he didn’t have it or know anything about the missing wallet. A family member later found the wallet in a box of the deceased male’s items.
Lacey was arrested on charges of auto theft, fraud, theft, and driving on a suspended driver’s license with a prior conviction.
