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BUCKHANNON -- A West Virginia Wesleyan College basketball student-athlete was arrested for allegedly stealing a vehicle while it was parked outside Sheetz. In an unrelated incident, a Buckhannon man was arrested after he allegedly stole his ex-girlfriend's vehicle.
David Nehimiah Nichols, 19, of Newark, Delaware, was arrested for grand larceny, a felony, by Sgt. Darin Hissam with the Buckhannon Police Department.
Hissam was dispatched to Sheetz and spoke with the alleged victim, who stated his silver 2020 Ford EcoSport was stolen while he was inside the store, according to the criminal complaint in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk's office.
The alleged victim told officers he parked in the side parking lot and turned the ignition off but left the key in the ignition and the vehicle unlocked to make a brief stop in the store.
"When he came back outside a few minutes later, his vehicle was no longer parked where he had left it," Hissam wrote.
Sheetz' security footage showed a person in dark clothing and light colored shoes approach the vehicle from the Walmart side of the parking lot, get into the vehicle and drive south on Route 20. With security footage from Walmart, Hissam was able to get several photographs of the individual, later identified as Nichols. Hissam also viewed footage from Sheetz showing Nichols walking through the Sheetz lot towards Walmart approximately 15 minutes prior to the vehicle theft, the complaint states. A Sheetz manager advised that Nichols was in the store frequently and may be a college student.
Through further investigation at WVWC and a look at the basketball team roster online, Hissam identified Nichols and located the vehicle parked and locked up in a WVWC campus parking lot. Nichols was arrested at Benedum Hall, according to the criminal complaint.
Magistrate Mark Davis set bond at $10,000.
Wesleyan's sports information office declined comment at this time on whether Nichols was still a member of the men's basketball team, but did say Nichols saw no playing time in the season which just ended.
Nichols was listed as a freshmen on the basketball team roster.
• In a separate vehicle theft case, Stewart Mullens, 42, of Buckhannon, was arrested by Patrolman Angel McCauley for grand larceny, a felony, and violation of a protective order, a misdemeanor, after he allegedly took a blue 2004 Ford Escape from his ex-girlfriend's residence, according to the criminal complaint.
On Feb. 26, the alleged victim told McCauley that Mullens had stayed at her house, and she woke up about 5 a.m. to him hitting the bed beside her pillow with a sharp object which punctured her sheet down to the bed frame. Mullens then ran outside and she heard her car start up and drive away.
On Feb. 28, McCauley again responded to the residence on Cleveland Avenue and found Mullens on the front porch. The Ford Escape was in the parking lot. The alleged victim told McCauley that her house keys were on the car keys, which is how Mullens gained access to the house, and that she was unsure how long he had been in the residence before she woke up. The protective order was granted Feb. 17 and Mullens had been served.