Stolen tour bus ditched in Marietta

Two Coshocton men were arrested in Marietta Friday after allegedly stealing a tour bus and driving it around eastern Ohio.

"We put them north of Columbus about midnight, (and in) Steubenville at 8 o'clock this morning," said Marietta police Sgt. Rod Hupp.

Lucas A. Fine, 22, and Lawrence Gasner III, 22, both of Coshocton, are in custody at the Washington County Jail, each charged with a third-degree felony count of receiving stolen property. They are expected to be arraigned in municipal court on Monday.

Around 11:30 a.m. Friday, Marietta police received a report that a white, full-size bus bearing the logo of the Muskingum Coach Co. had struck some utility poles and mailboxes in the 200 block of Pennsylvania Avenue.

"They were trying to turn around at the entrance to the aquatic center, obviously lost," Hupp said.

When officers arrived, the bus had been abandoned in a parking lot by the Marietta Roller Rink at the Washington County Fairgrounds.

A check of the bus' license plate revealed it had been stolen from Coshocton, where the Muskingum Coach Co. is headquartered, Hupp said. Sales receipts recovered helped officers determine where else the bus had been, he said.

Witnesses provided police with descriptions of the two men. Just before 1 p.m., police Patrolman Katie Warden spotted two men who loosely matched the descriptions in downtown Marietta.

Hupp said witnesses identified the two men as those who had fled the bus. One of the individuals confessed, he said.

Because the bus was not stolen in Marietta, the men were charged with receiving stolen property. The value of the bus, approximately $350,000, increased the severity of the charge, Hupp said.

"Normally, a motor vehicle is a fourth-degree felony, but because of the high value of this, it went up to a fourth-degree felony," he said.

Hupp said the men are expected to face charges in Coshocton County as well.

Patrolman Braden Wenzel served as lead investigator on the case.

Hupp said Fine had recently been released from prison after serving time for stealing a semi truck.