Hawkins deputy says couple laughed, left after cart hit parked Camaro
ROGERSVILLE — A couple who reportedly enjoyed a good laugh after damaging a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro with a shopping cart last week in a Rogersville parking lot apparently didn’t realize they were being observed by an off-duty deputy from the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident occurred shortly before 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Park View Plaza parking lot in front of the Save-A-Lot grocery store.
Off-duty HCSO Sgt. Keith Long told the Rogersville Police Department he observed a male and a female pushing the shopping cart toward the buggy rack.
The couple then heaved the cart in the direction of the buggy rack, but the cart missed the rack and rolled across the parking lot, striking the side of the unoccupied Camaro.
Long told RPD Officer Patrick Johnson that the couple got into a blue Chevrolet pickup, drove across the parking lot to the damaged Camaro, “looked at it and laughed, and then drove away.”
Long was able to get the license plate number of a 1993 Chevrolet pickup that is registered to a woman from the Thorn Hill community of Grainger County.
The owner of the Camaro, Charles Klepper of Whitesburg, told police there was damage to the passenger door and rear fender, but the value of the damage was unknown at the time the report was taken.
RPD Detective Joey Maddox said Klepper would have a strong case for a civil lawsuit against the couple, but whether or not criminal charges can be filed will be determined through investigation.
“The first thing we need to establish is if it was accidental or intentional,” Maddox told the Times-News Monday. “If it was intentional, then you’re looking at a vandalism charge. There’s also the potential for (a charge of) leaving the scene of an accident. What we’ll do is see if there’s any video surveillance, gather all the facts, and then decide how to proceed from there.”
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