2/6/2012
By the Salina Journal
A Kansas City, Kan., man who abandoned his disabled car along Interstate Highway 70 allegedly stole two pickup trucks Saturday, one from the garage of a Saline County sheriff’s deputy, before he was arrested in Osborne.
Scott Mitchell, 48, currently is being held in Lincoln County Jail on charges related to theft of the second pickup, said Saline County Sheriff Glen Kochanowski. A hold has been placed on Mitchell so that he will face charges in Saline County as well, Kochanowski said.
Kochanowski said Mitchell’s vehicle apparently broke down along I-70 and he got a ride to Salina. From there, he walked to the 1900 block of North Halstead Road, where he broke into a home.
Cash and keys to deputy David Higgins’ personal truck were stolen from the house, and his 2007 Nissan Titan pickup was taken from the garage, Kochanowski said. Mitchell allegedly backed the truck out of the drive at a high rate of speed, crashing into a rock and damaging a flower garden as he left.
Higgins had been working in a wood shop in an outbuilding. He saw the damage to his home and that his truck was missing and called the sheriff’s office at 2:45 p.m., Kochanowski said. Damage to the house and property was estimated at $400.
Higgins’ truck was found with front-end damage in Lincoln County, after Mitchell had allegedly driven it over a hill in Ellsworth County on westbound I-70 at a high rate of speed and crashed into another westbound vehicle, Kochanowski said.
Mitchell allegedly exited the interstate and abandoned Higgins’ truck near Wilson Lake, where he is accused of stealing a silver Ford pickup truck.
Mitchell was taken into custody by authorities in Osborne, Kochanowski said.

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