14-04-2025
He said he was trying to move a pickup blocking an exit. He's charged with vehicle theft
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — While at a nearby welding shop, Eli Wall told deputies, he noticed a parked pickup blocking the exit of a business on South Union Avenue.
He was only helping move the truck when deputies arrived, Wall said. He was arrested and charged with vehicle theft.
Last week, Wall's trial ended with jurors deadlocked — and a retrial scheduled next month.
He faces three years in prison if convicted, according to a release from the Kern County Public Defender's Office.
'Helping someone move a truck doesn't make you a car thief,' Deputy Public Defender Julius Cruz said in the release. 'Eli stayed, talked, and told the truth. That's not guilt — that's trying to do the right thing.'
On the afternoon of June 4, 2023, deputies patrolling in the 1100 block of South Union Avenue received a hit from their license plate reader that a white Chevy Silverado parked in front of a business had been reported stolen.
They parked behind the pickup. Wall got out and deputies detained him.
Wall told them he'd been trying to perform a good deed, helping two women move the truck out of the way. The women left when deputies arrived, according to the release.
The mistrial was declared Friday, and a retrial set for May 27.
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