Man jailed following reports of stolen car
A man, whose last known address was the 100 block of Morton Street in New Eagle, was jailed Saturday on several charges relating to a car stolen from New York and found in Bentleyville.
Bentleyville police said officers responded to the Pilot gas station on Wilson Road about 9:30 p.m. for the report of a man asking around to buy cocaine or heroin.
Police said when they arrived, Jason Orin Stevens, 46, matched the description and was lying down in a car with New York plates. Police discovered the vehicle was reported stolen in New York and confirmed with a New York trooper that Stevens was their suspect in the theft, according to the criminal complaint.
Inside the car, police found cocaine paraphernalia and a partially empty stamp bag, police wrote in the complaint. Stevens was charged by Bentleyville police with receiving stolen property, unauthorized use of a vehicle, two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and driving under suspension. He was arraigned Monday afternoon by District Judge Larry Hopkins and jailed on $100,000 bond.
Police said Stevens was on state parole and in violation of his parole at the time of the arrest.
Stevens pleaded guilty in 2018 to simple assault and recklessly endangering another person, stemming from a 2017 incident that happened in New Eagle. The other 10 initial charges he faced in that case – including rape, aggravated indecent assault, burglary and false imprisonment – were dismissed at the time of his plea.
He was sentenced by county judge Valarie Costanzo to one year in jail followed by one year of probation.