Sam Lerner found out the hard way that one of Potomac Village Deli’s delivery trucks had been stolen on Sept. 30.
“We got a call from somebody who was kind of irate,” Lerner said. Someone called to complain that the driver of a Deli truck was driving erratically, and had cut the caller off in traffic.
When Lerner checked the store’s records, he realized that there were no deliveries scheduled, and no truck should be out on the road. He went into the alley behind the store to look and discovered the truck was missing.
The evening of Oct. 1, the truck was found in the 1100 block of Delaware Avenue in Southwest Washington, said Derick Baliles, spokesperson for the Montgomery County Police.
The truck suffered some minor damage, but was generally intact. “Everything that was supposed to be there was there, except for a cell phone,” Lerner said.
Most auto thefts in the area are recovered quickly, say police. “In this area, it’s basically joy riding,” said Baliles. The majority of auto thefts are recovered in the immediate Metro area.
Montgomery County Police have a suspect in custody.
“One of the callers recognized the driver,” said Baliles. Based on the tip, police obtained a warrant and arrested Ludlow Peter King III, 24, of the 8900 block of Potomac Station Lane. “He was arrested on Oct. 2 at 12:15 a.m.,” Baliles said. Baliles described King as 6-feet-4 inches, 240 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes. He did not have information indicating where the arrest took place.
Baliles said King has been charged with theft over $500, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and auto theft. As of the Almanac’s press deadline, he was being held on a $5,000 bond at the Montgomery County Detention Center.
Baliles was grateful for the help police received. “The citizens helped us all along the way,” he said.