UPDATE: Missing Truck Found, Arrests Made

A truck that was taken on a test drive last week and never returned was found over the weekend with a couple of arrests made as well.

Salina Police Capt. Paul Forrester tells KSAL News that an officer on patrol recognized a stolen truck from A&C Motors, 1501 W. Crawford, sitting in the parking lot of the East Crawford Recreation Area, 800 block of Markley Rd., at 12:15 a.m. on Saturday. The park closes at midnight, so the truck was not allowed to be there.

The officer pulled up to the 2012 Ford F-150 and saw that the license plate on the back of the truck was a Kansas tag: 745-LYL. There were two occupants inside of the parked vehicle as well. 40-year-old Jerry Bishop, Salina–who was named as a suspected in the stolen truck case–and 37-year-old Brittany Tucker, Abilene.

Bishop also had a warrant out for his arrest in an unrelated case.

After searching the vehicle, the officer found the dealer’s plate located inside of the truck and a backpack with methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia inside belonging to Tucker.

After investigating, authorities determined that the license plate on the back of the stolen truck belonged to Sushil Bhakta, 51, Salina, and his 2016 Ram 1500 pickup. The tag was allegedly stolen from the 400 block of N. Broadway last Friday.

Bishop was arrested and is facing charges for his warrant, as well as felony theft and possession of stolen property charges.

Tucker was also arrested for possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

The truck was returned to the dealership undamaged.


ORIGINAL: Salina Police are looking for a suspect and the Ford pickup he took on a test drive but never returned.

Police Captain Paul Forrester tells KSAL News that a white male convinced a staff member at A & C Motors, 1501 W. Crawford to take a 2012 Ford F-150 for a test run on Thursday around 3:30pm.

The man said he would bring the truck back in 30-minutes and never returned. The employee did not gather a driver license, ID or the name of the man.

Police describe the suspect as a 200-pound, bald, white male who is about 6-foot to 6-foot 3-inches tall wearing blue jeans and a dark jacket.

The blue, F-150 has black rims and a black grill with four O O O O across the front. The pickup is valued at $9,900 and also has Kansas dealer plate: D9417C.