Woman charged with stealing five vehicles


Patricia S. Brown

Patricia S. Brown, 37, of Theodosia was scheduled to appear for a criminal setting Tuesday, March 19, before Associate Judge Raymond Gross in connection with five felony counts of stealing a motor vehicle that were filed against her last week. At press time Tuesday, she was being held in the Ozark County Jail on a $2,000 cash-only bond.

According to the probable cause statement in the case prepared by Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy Cpl. Curtis Dobbs, the officer was contacted by an individual who said he’d purchased seven vehicles from a woman in Pontiac. After leaving her residence on the last transaction, he was suspicious and decided to contact authorities for further investigation. 

The man, referred to as “witness” in the report, told the officer he purchases vehicles for cash and often drives to Missouri locations to complete the transactions. He said a woman recently contacted him and told him she’d recently purchased a piece of land with several vehicles on it that she’d like to sell. She then asked him to meet her at the property at 124 Morris Lane in Pontiac. The pair made arrangements to meet there on March 4. 

During the transaction, the woman reportedly signed a written contract that stated: “I (name withheld), am selling my seven vehicles to (name withheld) for $850 and give him permission to come back and pick up these vehicles.”

The document reportedly lists the year, make and vehicle identification number for each of the seven cars, along with the license plate number to the Pontiac G6 the woman was driving and her phone number. She is charged with stealing five of the seven vehicles. They are identified in the charging document as a 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier, 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier, 2000 Chevrolet Cavalier, 1996 Chevrolet S-10 and a 2000 Chevrolet Cavalier. The contract is dated March 4. A signature of the seller, Brown, and the purchaser are both included at the bottom, the statement says. 

The man told Dobbs that he gave the woman $850, along with an additional $70 for the vehicle batteries for each car. 

The man said the woman contacted him again shortly after he purchased the vehicles and asked him to purchase additional vehicles. He said the information she gave the second time was inconsistent with the information she told him the first time, and he became suspicious. So he called the sheriff’s office. 

Dobbs contacted the owner of 124 Morris Lane in Pontiac, Charles Dacus, and asked him to meet Dobbs at his property. At the property, Dacus reportedly told Dobbs that the vehicles in question were his vehicles, and he hadn’t given anyone permission to sell them. Dacus said he recently rented one of the residences on the property to Brown. 

The man who purchased the cars said the woman came in and out of a residence on the property several times while he was there. Dacus indicated that it was the same structure Brown had rented. Dobbs ran the license plate number listed on the contract for the Pontiac G6 the woman drove up in, and it was registered to Brown. Dobbs then presented a photo of Brown to the man who purchased the vehicles, and he positively identified her as the seller. 

On March 11, the man called Dobbs to tell him he was meeting Brown again at the property on Morris Lane at 12:50 p.m. that day. She had told the man he could buy five additional vehicles at that time. At 12:52 p.m., Dobbs, along with OCSD deputies Kyle Hannaford and Justin Urich, arrived at the property and located Brown inside the residence with the man who she thought was there to purchase the vehicles. 

Brown was read her Miranda rights and agreed to speak with the officers. She reportedly told Dobbs she did sell the vehicles to the man on March 4. She was arrested and was transported to the Ozark County Jail. She was interviewed again at the jail at 2:10 p.m. that day and again admitted to selling the vehicles and initialing the contract. 

If convicted, Brown could be sentenced to up to four years in the Missouri Department of Corrections on each of the five counts. 

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423