CLAY COUNTY, KY (WYMT) - The Clay County Sheriff’s Office recovered a stolen vehicle and arrested the hitchhiker accused of stealing it, WYMT reported.
A Laurel County man allegedly offered to pay a hitchhiker for sex. Deputies said Ronnie Helton drove Michael Paul Collins to Crawfish Road. When Helton got out of his vehicle to undress, Collins drove away with it, deputies said.
Deputies found the stolen Chevrolet Malibu late Monday night. They said Collins met an older man from Jackson County, KY, at Fall Rock Dollar Store to possibly trade vehicles.
That is when Collins allegedly got in the other man's Mercury Cougar, took it for a test drive and did not come back.
It was not until early Wednesday morning that police got a call about a suspicious vehicle. When deputies arrived, they found the stolen Mercury Cougar. They then tracked down Collins to a home. Deputies said Collins tried to run out the back door before they arrested him.
Collins, 26, is charged with theft by unlawful taking, fleeing or evading police on foot and a court bench warrant. He was taken to the Clay County Detention Center.
Helton, 71, is charged with solicitation.
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