A woman faces DUI and larceny charges after state police said she drove to a package store in Hebron on Tuesday and left in someone else’s vehicle.
A state trooper responded to a business on Main Street just after 12:30 p.m. on a stolen car report and spoke to a woman who said she was shopping for groceries before finding that her Hyundai Santa Fe was no longer in the parking lot, according to Connecticut State Police. The woman said she had left the vehicle unlocked with the key fob inside.
When the trooper spoke to employees of the area businesses they reported having seen a woman with a dog in the parking lot acting odd. State police said the trooper also found a Jeep Renegade parked “improperly” in the lot. The registration for the vehicle indicated it belonged to an individual the trooper recognized from “previous interactions.”
State police responded to the individual’s home in Hebron along with a Hebron police officer and found the stolen Hyundai in the driveway. Inside the vehicle, police found 50-year-old Michele Mcnaughton in the driver seat and her dog in the passenger seat, according to state police.
Police directed her out of the vehicle where she told authorities she thought the Santa Fe was her Renegade, as she believed both vehicles appeared similar, state police said. Police noted that the victim’s wallet was in the driver seat along with scattered cash. The victim’s driver’s license had allegedly been taken out of the wallet.
State police said they found that Mcnaughton had gone to a liquor store to buy alcohol before leaving in the victim’s vehicle. She had a suspended license and allegedly showed signs of impairment, state police noted. Police said she failed multiple field sobriety tests before being taken to Troop K in Colchester.
Mcnaughton faces charges of larceny of a motor vehicle, operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs and operation of a motor vehicle under suspension. She was held on a $10,000 bond and was scheduled to be arraigned in Rockville Superior Court on Oct. 16.
The Hyundai was returned to its owner.
