Car’s owner amazed

— Deputies told Jesse Jordan of Bentonville that it couldn’t have taken longer than 10 minutes for the 15-year-old juvenile involved in last week’s pursuit through Pea Ridge to steal his Kia Rio from outside his home in broad daylight.

Jordan reported the vehicle stolen last Monday around noon, and it turned up in Pea Ridge Tuesday, Sept. 21. The driver made contact with a Pea Ridge police officer’s vehicle before abandoning the car and taking off on foot.

“It looked like they were getting ready for a trip,” Jordan said, after helping deputies and Little Flock police assisting with the case clean out the car before it was impounded.

“They had a Garmin in there, lots of water, some clothes,” he said.

Jordan was at work when the car was stolen. His father had the car in the driveway, moved it to the street to get his truck out. Jordan’s mother went inside for just a minute before returning to take the car on some errands. In that short time, the car was stolen.

Around 6:30 Tuesday night, Bentonville police called Jordan and said his vehicle was in a pursuit.

Later, a Bentonville police officer called again, gave him the number to the sheriff’s deputy and said he could go pick his car up.

“I saw the car and all the things in your subconscious mind that connect to what belongs were off, it didn’t even look like my car. The seat covers that had been in there since we have had the car were moved, there was nothing in glove compartment but wires ... things people leave in cars (the boy had likely stolen) - phone chargers, iPod chargers. There were a lot of gas cans in the trunk and four or five flashlights.”

The car was impounded Tuesday night because Jordan didn’t have a spare key and the suspect took the key with him when he ran. On Thursday, Jordan had yet to retrieve the car from impound.

He plans to speak with an attorney and his insurance to avoid the fees incurred with the ordeal.

“I guess maybe we watch a lot of TV these days, but there was nodiscussion with me about the situation,” Jordan said Thursday. “I would think they wouldn’t have called me to pick up the car, would have impounded it.

There was really no statement, they didn’t discuss anything withme. It just seems odd.”

“I left it at the impound, especially since I don’t know the ordeal.

It wasn’t my idea to have my car stolen,” he said.

Jordan said he lives in a safe neighborhood in Bentonville where he has had the same neighbors for a very long time.

News, Pages 12 on 09/29/2010