Two Irish brothers grab their truck from Somerset impound and pay the price
SOMERSET ― When one brother entered Herring Motor Co.'s impoundment on June 2 and drove away in a white 2017 Dodge Ram truck stored there he was followed closely by his brother, driving another pickup.
The brothers didn't know they would end up in jail for a week. They didn't know they would have to dish out more than $4,500 in restitution and $536 in court costs and fines. They didn't know that they would leave the jail in handcuffs.
Initially, Tommy Doran, 21, and Michael Doran, 19, from Ireland, were charged with theft, a third-degree felony. The charges were downgraded to non-traffic summaries, criminal trespassing and theft of services. The brothers pleaded guilty to those charges at their preliminary hearing before District Judge Ken Johnson Wednesday. Their bond was increased, however, from $50,000 to $100,000 secured, by Johnson.
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The following day, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents came and took them, according to Somerset County Jail officials.
How did it happen
"We had the door open because we were working in there," said Patrick Herring of Herring Motor Co., along Neilan Road in Somerset.
Next thing the workers knew the truck was gone.
Brandon Moore, a wrecker driver for Herring, saw it happen.
"I was working in the shop and all of a sudden I looked out and I saw these two pickups flying through our back parking lot (the impoundment lot) and through our front lot and then turning up on (Route) 31," he said.
He recognized the impounded truck as one of the two pickups, he said. State police were notified.
Someone had been talking to the Herring dispatcher a few days before the incident about coming for the truck and paying for its storage. But, no one had stopped up at the office to pay the bill, which was $4,500, he said.
"It was sort of like they were watching," Moore said. The gates to the impound are normally kept closed. It just so happened that they were working in there that day, he said.
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The truck, which had a temporary California license plate, was initially impounded after state police stopped the vehicle on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Michael Doran, who was driving, did not have proof of ownership or insurance. Herring was called to tow the vehicle to its impound lot until the paperwork was provided.
"It was the last day of January," Moore remembered. And the truck sat in the impound until driven off by Tommy Doran on June 2. Michael Doran was charged with fare evasion on Jan. 31.
According to the police report, it was more than four months later that Tommy said that his brother had dropped him off at Herring to retrieve the truck. He saw the keys left in the ignition, so he drove away "without paying for storage or speaking with anyone in person at the business," according to state police.
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The brothers were picked up on the Turnpike by state police and placed in the jail on a $50,000 secured bond set by Johnson at their arraignment while awaiting their preliminary hearing.
According to the criminal complaint, the truck was worth $5,000.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Police: Two Irish brothers stole truck from Somerset impound
