The Register-Herald
PAGE, W.Va. — Last week, Gary Lee Philpot drove the Loup Creek Volunteer Fire Department’s Chevy truck. Tuesday he was arrested on a number of charges.
The problem? Philpot, 34, of Robson, did not have permission to use the 2007 Silverado crew-cab pickup. And the fire chief said Philpot was about to be released from duty because he had not complied with the terms of his probationary status, a Fayette County Sheriff’s Office press release states.
Now Philpot is charged with misdemeanor offenses of trespassing, joy riding and third offense driving on a revoked license. Yet, during an investigation, it was revealed he was wanted for third offense driving on a suspended license, reckless driving, operating an ATV on a roadway with a center line and fleeing in a vehicle from a law enforcement office. Those charges stem from a June 2014 incident, according to the press release.
Philpot’s problems began April 7, when the county’s 911 Center received a call that the fire department’s truck was stolen.
When deputies arrived, the truck was back at the fire house, but Philpot was seen joy riding in it early that evening on Dempsey Branch Road, the release states.
The fire chief told deputies that Philpot recently returned as a member of the fire department, but he failed to comply with its probationary requirement, the release states. The chief told authorities Philpot was about to be relieved of duty before the incident, but had not yet been notified.
Fayette County Sheriff Steve Kessler said Philpot “did not have keys to the building and actually broke into the station in oder to take this fire department vehicle.”
Kessler said after consulting with the county’s prosecuting attorney, charges of breaking and entering were not appropriate, as Philpot had been a member of the department.
Philpot was arraigned in Fayette County Magistrate Court where bond was set at $3,500. There was no record of him being in the Southern Regional Jail Tuesday night.
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