A local teen was arrested Tuesday night on a felony theft charge after allegedly stealing her mother's car, which her juvenile boyfriend then reportedly wrecked after fleeing from Hot Springs police.
Nakayla Moenay Washington, 19, who lists an AD Lane address, sustained minor injuries in the wreck and was taken into custody after her release from the hospital and charged with theft of property over $25,000, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Washington, who lists no prior criminal history, was being held on a $5,000 bond and was set to appear Wednesday in Garland County District Court.
Her boyfriend, 17, was cited for driving without a driver's license, speeding, careless and prohibited driving, failure to maintain control, improper lane change, three counts of improper passing, two counts of failure to yield and two counts of failure to obey a traffic device. He was released on citations and is set to appear on Feb. 18 in district court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday, Garland County sheriff's Deputy Benny Rowe was dispatched to a residence on AD Lane regarding a stolen vehicle.
He spoke to a woman who said her daughter, identified as Washington, and her daughter's boyfriend had taken her white 2015 Dodge Durango, valued at $30,000, and left. She noted her daughter has never been allowed to drive her vehicle and did not have permission to take it.
She said the keys to the Durango had fallen between the seats earlier and she did not retrieve them. After discovering her vehicle missing, she checked her security camera and saw her daughter taking some bags out of a black vehicle and putting them in the Durango. Then her daughter's boyfriend got in the driver's seat and they drove away.
While Rowe was still taking the report, a dispatcher advised that a volunteer firefighter had spotted the Durango in the city and Hot Springs police got behind it and tried to stop it, but it sped away. After several minutes, police lost sight of the vehicle in the vicinity of Bayles Street.
Sheriff's Sgt. Jeremy Simpson spotted the vehicle in the area of Greenwood Street and tried to stop it, but it fled again and headed north on Park Avenue where it wrecked, striking a road sign and a telephone pole at Park and Pullman Street.
Washington, who was a passenger in the vehicle, suffered minor injuries and was transported to the emergency room at CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs for treatment. She was later released and booked into the jail at 12:17 a.m. Wednesday.