CLEARFIELD – A Tennessee man accused of stealing a car from a DuBois parking lot pleaded guilty in Clearfield County Court.
Steven Duane Gillis, 31, of Harriman, Tenn., pleaded guilty before President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman to theft by unlawful taking and criminal mischief in the car theft case and to resisting arrest and disorderly conduct for his actions at a local restaurant later that same day. He was sentenced to five months to one year in jail and one year consecutive probation. He was fined $375 plus costs and he must pay over $3,200 in restitution.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the victim told police he parked his vehicle in the lot at 12:30 p.m. June 24. When he returned to the lot at 1:25 p.m., the 2015 black Dodge Dart vehicle was gone. A suspect had left his phone in the Hitching Post.
An officer contacted several people listed in the phone and learned the owner was Steven Gillis.
A Lawrence Township police officer contacted DuBois City police to report they had the vehicle and the driver who was identified as Gillis.
In order to access the vehicle, Gillis smashed out three windows.
The second affidavit outlines how an officer in Lawrence Township answered a call for a disturbance at the Dutch Pantry in Clearfield where a man who did not pay for his food was scaring customers away.
Staff members followed him into the parking lot and told him he needed to pay his bill. He went back into the restaurant and then into the bathroom. When he returned to the dining area he asked the other patrons for food.
When officers arrived, the man, later identified as Gillis, was sitting alone. He admitted he placed a food order and ate the meal. He said when the bill came, he left without paying.
An officer asked Gillis if he had any money and he said yes, agreeing to pay the bill. The manager requested that he be escorted off the property due to his erratic behavior. After he paid for his food, officers took him to the parking lot.
Gillis stated he just wanted to go home. When he was asked where his vehicle was, he pointed to a black sedan parked on the Interstate 80 eastbound off ramp. He claimed the vehicle had broken down. While in the process of checking Gillis’s information, the officers discovered the vehicle was stolen.
As officers tried to put Gillis in the rear of the patrol vehicle for questioning, he tensed up and attempted to pull away from the officers. Gillis broke free and ran. He had to be taken to the ground where he struggled with officers. He refused to calm down and attempted to kick them. Gillis had to be tased twice before he was subdued. He was restrained by leg shackles and a harness and transported to the county jail.
While he was being searched at the jail, he resisted jail staff and was placed on the ground. He later admitted to being under the influence of cocaine, xanax and pain management drugs.