Casper Police Arrest Man for Stealing Mother’s Car
A man who is reportedly out on bond for stealing his grandmother's car in Johnson County was arrested in Casper on Friday after allegedly admitting that he stole his mother's car.
Devin Derek Pangus, 24, was booked into jail on a charge of grand larceny.
Charging documents say a Casper police sergeant responded to an address on Preserve Circle shortly before 1 p.m. Friday after a woman called police and said she had found green Ford Mustang, which she claimed had been stolen by her son.
The sergeant arrived to find Pangus standing near the trunk of the Mustang, and Pangus' mother, who had parked her other vehicle directly behind the Mustang to prevent it from leaving the area.
Pangus' mother spoke with the sergeant and, according to court documents, said Pangus had stayed at her home Thursday night. Before going to bed around 10 p.m., she refused to give Pangus a ride back to his apartment, because she felt Pangus "would get into mischief if he left."
The mother took her purse, which contained the keys to the Mustang, into her bedroom when she went to sleep, because she "knows Pangus is notorious for having sticky fingers and stealing cars," the affidavit reads.
The Mustang was stored in the garage, which was kept under lock and key.
On Friday, Pangus' mother got up and went to work at the VFW. At about 10:15 a.m., a patron asked the mother, "What the hell are you thinking letting Devin drive your Mustang?"
The mother said "never in a million years" would she let Pangus take the car, and the patron said he had seen Pangus driving the Mustang near the intersection of K Street and Wolcott.
Pangus' mother called her husband and asked him to go into the garage to check on the car. The Mustang was missing.
The mother immediately left work and got together with her daughter. The pair set off in search of the Mustang.
Pangus had reportedly changed his phone number since taking the Mustang, and he did not return any messages his mother sent via Facebook.
After driving around town, the women found the Mustang outside of the address on Preserve Circle, which was the home of one of Pangus' close friends. When Pangus exited the building, his mother confronted him.
After speaking with the mother, the police sergeant approached Pangus and said, "Devin, you know you're not supposed to steal cars, right?"
Pangus allegedly nodded in agreement and said he knew better. Two warrants had previously been issued for Pangus' arrest, and he was taken into custody at that point.
Court documents say Pangus has been arrested and charged for stealing cars three separate times as an adult. At the time of his arrest on Friday, he was out on bond for allegedly stealing his grandmother's vehicle in Johnson County.
In the Mustang, police found Pangus' clothing and toiletries. Based on a number of factors, the sergeant said he believes Pangus was doing more than simply "joyriding" on Friday, and has "displayed a level of intent consistent with the act of grand larceny."
Pangus, in his interview with the sergeant, allegedly said he snuck into his mother's bedroom at about 11:30 p.m. Thursday and stole the keys to the Mustang and to the locked garage. He unlocked the garage, put those keys back inside his mother's purse, and took off in the Mustang.
Pangus also allegedly admitted to having smoked methamphetamine on Thursday night.
Of using methamphetamine, the sergeant says it is "a common catalyst when it comes to larceny based crimes, as it is a very expensive habit that oftentimes leaves individuals unemployed and unable to financially support their addiction without turning to a life of crime, even when the victims of said crimes are the persons closes to them (family members)."
Before being taken to jail, Pangus reportedly asked the sergeant to remove a meth pipe from Pangus' shirt pocket, so that Pangus wouldn't be charged with attempting to take drugs into a detention facility.