Updated: Kentucky man accused of stealing rescue squad’s Humvee, doing doughnuts
Police have arrested a man accused of stealing a military Humvee belonging to the London - Laurel County Rescue Squad and then doing donuts with it, according to court records.
The vehicle was stolen around 2 a.m. Tuesday, according to the London Police Department. It was found shortly afterward flipped over in a ditch near the Rockcastle and Pulaski county line, police said.
The massive 1999 military ambulance was parked on Main Street in London about 300 feet from the rescue squad building when it was stolen, according to the rescue squad. It was being used to advertise the rescue squad’s haunted house, police Lt. Jessie Williams said.
“Supposedly, this subject was walking by, got in the vehicle and drove it off,” he said.
An investigation concluded that Vernon Denney, a 32-year-old Somerset resident, stole the vehicle, according to court records.
After it went missing, the vehicle was reportedly spotted doing donuts at an Economy Inn, according to an arrest citation. Police responded to the hotel, but the vehicle was gone, according to an arrest citation. It was later reported to be traveling at a high rate of speed on US 25, according to police.
Officers reviewed surveillance footage from the hotel and determined that it was the missing Humvee that had been spotted, according to an arrest citation. The footage also showed Denney go into an Economy Inn room where his mother was, according to an arrest citation. His mother told police that Denney came to visit her but left to go to Rockcastle County, according to an arrest citation.
Denney was located later on Tuesday and taken to the Rockcastle County sheriff’s office, according to an arrest citation. Denney admitted to being involved in the theft, but he said he was a passenger and someone else had been driving, according to an arrest citation.
The hotel surveillance footage proved otherwise, as there was only one person who exited the vehicle in the video, according to an arrest citation, and the subject in the video matched Denney’s description. Denney was arrested just before 9 p.m. Tuesday, according to court records.
The damaged Humvee wasn’t totaled, but the doors were ripped off and the back of the vehicle sustained significant damage, according to Nathan Kirby, spokesman for the rescue squad. The doors on the vehicle are made of a lightweight fabric and don’t lock, Kirby said. It was towed to a garage, according to an arrest citation.
The rescue squad was surprised that Denney was able to take off with the military Hummer, according to Kirby. The vehicle doesn’t have a key ignition, but instead has a hidden kill switch and a couple other switches that have to be flipped to start the vehicle, Kirby said.
“He poked around for quite some time to be able to figure that out,” he said.
Denney was charged with automobile theft of $10,000 or more but less than $1 million, according to court records. Humvee prices vary depending on features, but the original cost is reported to be about $70,000. Armored Humvees can reportedly cost as much as $220,000. But the Department of Defense has auctioned Humvees in the past, and they can now be found at much lower prices.
The stolen vehicle was several years old. It was fitted with emergency lights, a siren, off-road lights and a mobile radio, according to police. The only thing missing from the vehicle when it was found was the microphone for the radio, Kirby said. Responders did find beer cans in the vehicle when it was recovered, Kirby said.
Denney was scheduled to be arraigned in Laurel County district court Wednesday morning, according to court records.
This story was originally published October 20, 2020 at 9:05 AM.
CORRECTION: This story was corrected to note keys were not left in the vehicle as police initially reported. The vehicle does not start with keys.