Steals Truck, Then
Steals It Agains

A Massachusetts man, who arrived in Randolph with a stolen pickup truck, apparently managed to steal it again after police seized it July 22 and locked it up in the town garage on Hedding Drive.

Randolph Police Chief Jim Krakowiecki said that Officer Tom Simpson followed up on a tip that a "bright blue Dodge pickup" that had been around the area for several days might be stolen. The driver, who was visiting here, was identified as Scott Westgate.

Simpson located and pulled over the vehicle July 22, but Westgate leaped out and fled the area, apparently with keys in hand.

Record checks indicated that the truck was indeed stolen, and that the plates on it had been removed from a different vehicle. Police in Rochester, Mass., advised Officer Simpson that Westgate had missed a recent court date on a pending charge.

The pickup was towed to the town garage, until Massachusetts authorities could pick it up. However, it appears that Westgate managed to enter the garage and drive out the car overnight. A town employee who stopped by the garage on Saturday noticed that the pickup was gone.

Westgate had even closed the garage door and locked it, before driving off, Chief Krakowiecki said. As of yesterday, the whereabouts of both Westgate and the truck were unknown, the chief said.