A London man has been indicted on multiple charges for allegedly stealing a bus belonging to the Laurel County Board of Education earlier this year.
John Robert-Benjamin Driscoll, 27, was named in a five-count indictment on Aug. 16, with a Laurel County grand jury charging him with theft by unlawful taking of the value of $10,000 or more but less than $1,000,000, first-degree criminal mischief, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving and illegal use of a school bus.
The alleged incident occurred on March 12, when officers with the London Police Department received a report regarding a school bus that had crashed into a ditch at the intersection of Middleground Way and Sublimity School Road. According to a release from LPD, a witness at the scene saw a younger male dressed in all black crawl out of the bus and run from the scene toward S. Laurel Road.
Officers soon located a man fitting the description on S. Laurel Road and made contact with him. The man, identified as Driscoll, allegedly had a strong odor of alcohol coming from his person.
Driscoll allegedly told police that he had been drinking Fireball Whiskey and admitted to stealing the school bus from South Laurel High School.
Driscoll was placed under arrest and jailed in the Laurel County Correctional Facility. He was also charged on an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Indiana.
According to online jail records, Driscoll posted bond on June 4 and currently remains out on bond.
An indictment is a formal charge by a grand jury; it is not a conviction or an admission of guilt.
Others indicted Aug. 16 and their charges include:
– Margaret Ann Sizemore, 52, of Corbin: three counts of theft by unlawful taking of the value of $10,000 or more but less than $1,000,000.
– Billy R. Robinson, 37, of London: receiving stolen property of the value of $1,000 or more but less than $10,000 first-degree possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants – third offense, windows not safety glass.
– Billy Joe Swafford, 47, of London: second-degree arson, second-degree burglary.
– Roy Wayne Allen, III, 31, of London: second-degree arson, second-degree burglary, second-degree persistent felony offender.
– Johnathan Andrew Gray, 33, of London: second-degree assault, second-degree persistent felony offender.
– John Paul Justice, 37, of London: second-degree rape, incest.
– Larry Hunter Madden, Jr., 24, of East Bernstadt: third-degree burglary, theft by unlawful taking of the value of $500 or less.
– Johnathon Tyler Henson, 29, of East Bernstadt: flagrant non-support.
– Edward Eaton, Jr., 47, of Lily: flagrant non-support.
