Man gets drug rehab, community custody for stealing truck

A Walla Walla man who stole a truck and crashed it was sentenced Friday to drug treatment and community custody.

Benjamin R. Carroll, 23, was arrested on Feb. 20 after officers responded to the 500 block of Pine Street. A woman had called dispatch and said her boyfriend was chasing Carroll, who had taken the 1998 Ford F150 her mother had let the couple use.

Officers found Carroll on foot near Sumach and Park streets after the crash. He told them he picked up a truck for a friend and “someone came through the rear sliding window and hit him, and he ran away from the guy,” records stated.

He said he was taking the truck to an acquaintance so it could be exchanged for fentanyl.

The boyfriend said he saw someone was stealing it outside his home and jumped into the back as it drove away. He crawled through the window and tried shifting it to park. However, the truck crashed and he injured his head.

Carroll pleaded not guilty March 2 to vehicle theft, injury hit-and-run and third-degree driving with a suspended/revoked license.

The charges were later reduced in a plea agreement. His sentence Friday included a six-month residential Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative, two years in community custody, restitution yet to be determined, and $500 in fines and fees.