Kentucky teen couple suspected of multi-state crime spree captured

[January 19, 2015]  By Bill Cotterell
 
 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Reuters) - Teenage sweethearts from Kentucky were found in Florida early Sunday sleeping in a stolen pickup truck, ending a suspected multi-state crime spree that included vehicle thefts, cashing stolen checks and destruction of property, authorities said.

Dalton Hayes, 18, was being held in a county jail and Cheyenne Phillips, 13, who ran away with him about two weeks ago from western Kentucky, was turned over to the Florida Department of Children and Families, authorities said.

Hayes and Phillips surrendered without incident after they were surrounded by local law enforcement in a Panama City Beach parking lot, the Grayson County Kentucky Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Hayes was wanted on a Kentucky warrant of charges of interference with child custody. Authorities have begun the process to extradite them back to Kentucky, where they could face multiple felony charges, the sheriff's office said.

Phillips was reported missing on Jan. 3 by her father and the teens were on the run for about two weeks, the sheriff's office said, adding that no one was injured during the hunt for the pair.

The teens are suspected of stealing a car around Jan. 11 in Kentucky and driving it across a cattle farm, causing thousands of dollars in property damage, the sheriff's office said.

They are suspected of then taking a red Toyota truck, which had a firearm inside, and fleeing about 600 miles to South Carolina. They were captured on surveillance video at a Manning, South Carolina, Walmart store where police believe they passed two stolen checks, authorities said.

The red truck was found abandoned Wednesday in Henry County, Georgia, outside of Atlanta, and a silver 2001 Toyota Tundra pickup truck was reported stolen with two firearms inside within walking distance of that truck, local police said.

Hayes and Phillips were asleep in the silver pickup when authorities caught up with them, authorities said. Panama City Beach police said patrol officers spotted the pickup after U.S. Marshals said the couple might be in the Florida Panhandle.

(Refiled to add dropped letter in dateline)

(Additional reporting by David Bailey in Minneapolis; Editing by Rosalind Russell)

[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.