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Woman arrested after failing to return a borrowed car

A man loaned his car to a woman who needed a way to get around but she didn't bring it back. He talked to the sheriff's department about it and then gave her an extra day to bring it back before he reported it as stolen.

Jamie Jo Staten

Jamie Jo Staten, 54, Bloomfield, was arrested by Officer Wayman JR Blazier of the Linton Police Department last Friday, June 17.

Last Wednesday, June 15, a man went to the sheriff's department and talked to Detective Shawn Cullison, explaining that over the previous weekend he had loaned a gold 2004 Chevrolet Monte Carlo to Jamie Staten who needed a vehicle to get around. He said he talked to her earlier that morning and told her he needed her to bring his car back. She said she was in Linton and he said he would meet her there and would send her a message when he got to Linton but he never heard anything else from her. He said he thought she had been staying at a residence on West Main Street in Bloomfield. The man wanted to know what his options were. He didn't want Staten to get in trouble but he wanted his vehicle back. Options were explained and the man said he would give her one more day to return his vehicle.

The next day the man called Detective Cullison and said she was refusing to bring the car back and he would like to report it as stolen. The car was entered into the IDACS system as a stolen vehicle.

Then very early the next morning, on Friday, June 17, when Officer Blazier was headed to Linton, he saw the vehicle parked at a residence on West Main Street in Bloomfield and he recognized Staten sitting inside. He was aware the vehicle had been reported as stolen so he activated his emergency lights and pulled up to the vehicle.

Staten allegedly admitted the vehicle belonged to the man she borrowed it from but she did not believe it had been reported as stolen. She said he gave her the keys three days earlier and was supposed to come and get it a couple of days earlier but he told her he wasn't coming to get it.

Staten was uncooperative when she was asked to get out of the vehicle and was told if she didn't get out, the officer would remove her. She still refused and when Officer Blazier grabbed her by the left arm to remove her, she actively resisted by pulling away then put both of her feet up against the bottom of the door sill and with her other hand grabbed inside the vehicle so she could anchor herself to pull back away from him. The officer then grabbed her with both hands and forcefully pulled her out of vehicle. She was handcuffed and then placed inside a patrol vehicle with assistance from Deputy Michael Stanley.

Staten’s purse was searched incident to arrest and the officer found her wallet with her state identification card, a couple of prescription bottles with her name on them and other personal items along with the keys to the vehicle and two capped syringes - one later field tested positive for methamphetamine.

Staten was booked into the Greene County Jail at 7:17 AM with bond set at $9000 surety with 10% cash allowed.

Yesterday, Tuesday, June 21, Staten appeared in Greene Superior Court for her initial hearing on charges of:

  • Theft, Level 6 felony,

  • Unlawful possession of syringe, a Level 6 felony, and

  • Resisting law enforcement, knowingly or intentionally forcibly resisting, a Class A misdemeanor.