Man jailed after allegedly stealing Mustang

August 23, 2009

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- A Hagerstown man accused of stealing a $26,000 Ford Mustang and driving it to West Virginia was being held Sunday on $20,000 bond at Eastern Regional Jail in Martinsburg.

Berkeley County Sheriff's Department deputies M.L. Buracker and W.D. Christian were at the Bedington Crossroads Store on U.S. 11 at 2:36 a.m. Sunday when they spotted a red Ford Mustang with West Virginia tags driving south, according to a press release.

Because the vehicle had no taillights, the deputies pulled it over and found the driver to be Russell Jacob Stem, 20, of 1035 Concord St. in Hagerstown.

Deputies said Stem told them he was going to a friend's house but he didn't know his friend's last name, address or contact number.

When the registration on the vehicle didn't check out, Stem was taken out of the car, deputies said. After he told them he took the car from the Hagerstown Kmart parking lot, Stem was charged with transporting stolen property into West Virginia, according to the release.

Washington County Sheriff's deputies were contacted, and someone from the Hagerstown Ford dealership went to West Virginia to pick up the car after a matching stock number was revealed.

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