A grandmother who went on a never-ending test drive in a stolen car now faces more charges, these having to do with theft.
The woman, Christy Stevens, 52, had already been hit with charges of grand theft for stealing a car from C&C Auto Sales on Beersheba Street. Now she faces charges for a variety of thefts, some of which grew from her auto heist.
She was first charged when she made off with a car after claiming she wanted to take it on a test drive.
“She walked onto the lot and entered the office and talked with the owner,” said McMinnville police officer Richard Teachout. “He asked for a driver’s license before giving a test drive.”
The woman said “let me go get my license” and left the office.
“The owner watched her go get her things and throw them into a parked vehicle the owner had been driving with the keys inside,” Teachout revealed, noting the owner came running out of the office to flag her down. “She drove off the lot at a high rate of speed.”
The owner and his stepson gave chase and followed the vehicle to South High Street where they were able to get around her and make contact. However, she refused to stop.
It was during her run from the car lot owner Stevens smashed the vehicle when she rammed another vehicle while trying to get away. After stealing the vehicle, it is now alleged she took a deposit bag she found inside. The bag contained blank checks. The checks were not inside the vehicle when it was recovered by police. However, the checks were found in Stevens’ possession when police arrived to arrest her for the auto theft.
The thefts of the vehicle and its contents aren’t the only trouble Stevens faces. Police say four days after she stole the vehicle from the car lot, she returned to Beersheba Street and broke into a building owned by All-O-K’sions. During her illegal visit, police say she rifled through vehicles inside the building and stole several items.
“A video recording at the time of the burglary and theft shows her rambling through several vehicles,” said McMinnville police detective Todd Rowland.
Stevens now faces nine criminal counts including theft, burglary, driving on a revoked license and leaving the scene of an accident. She waived her right to preliminary hearing on those counts and has been bound to the grand jury.