An alert police officer spotted a car reported stolen from Chattanooga Sunday night at a local motel leading to the arrest of two people.
According to a police report, the officer spotted a red 2012 Ford Focus in the parking lot of the Motel 6 on Camp Jordan Parkway at about 9:30 Sunday morning. The officer recognized the vehicle as matching the description of a vehicle reported stolen from a gas station in Chattanooga on Saturday. Police confirmed the car as stolen and observed that it was in front of room 141 at the motel.
A quick check at the front desk revealed that Trevor Casteel, 21, of a Mulberry Street address in Chattanooga had rented the room. When the officer knocked on the door she saw a black male peek through the window. After about a minute, a white female cracked the door open and police saw a short, black man rush into the bathroom.
Trevor Casteel
According to the report, police ordered the man out of the bathroom. He was identified as 22-year-old Robert Lee Penn III, of an Oak Crest Lane address in Chattanooga. Casteel was found lying on a bed with a set of car keys next to him.
Casteel, the report states, was read his Miranda rights and admitted to arriving at the location with the stolen vehicle. Both Casteel and Penn had personal property in the vehicle.
The report notes that both Casteel and Penn have been convicted of Aggravated Robbery and both men are currently on active felony probation. Police asked for and received consent to search the motel room. Police discovered a fully loaded Ruger 9 mm pistol with a chambered round wrapped in a towel in the bathroom. When officers searched the vehicle, they found a fully-loaded Jennings .22-cal. firearm in the glove compartment.
Robert Lee Penn
Casteel was charged with Theft over $10,000 and Possession of a Firearm with a Violent Felony Conviction. Penn was charged with the firearm violation. Both men are due to appear in East Ridge Municipal Court on March 7.
_ 3824 Ringgold Rd.: Police were called to the address on Friday morning to investigate a “burglary in progress.” According to a police report, while police were en route to the location, the old Kingwood Pharmacy, officers were told that the witness was holding two suspects at gunpoint.
The report states that the officer spoke with the witness holding the two men in front of the apartment on the top of the business. The officer saw a broken window to the apartment where the suspects made entry. The witness said that he located both men in the room located to the left as you walk inside the apartment.
The report states that as the officer was getting the suspects out of the the patrol car, a cellophane baggie with suspected methamphetamine fell onto the ground. The report states that the suspected meth weighed out at 2.5 grams.
Clinton Allen Hayes, 45, of a Stovall Street address in Chattanooga, and Marcus W. Moore, 45, who is homeless, were charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance and Aggravated Criminal Trespass.
