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Teen Steals Grandpa's Truck, Holds Up Cab Driver

Last updated on Wednesday, April 3, 2013

(EDINBURGH) - A Hendricks County teen is facing multiple charges, after police say he stole two of his grandfather’s cars, then held a cab driver at gun point.

Teresa Mackin of WISH TV8 reports that 19 year old Dustin Emmert-Stamm of Lizton was arrested in Edinburgh Tuesday evening, after police say he stopped at a tire shop to repair a flat tire on his grandfather's Cadillac.

Bob Tobias said he was at the shop when Emmert-Stamm stopped in.

"He'd been driving for miles on that flat, there was no tire - just the rim," explained Tobias.

Tobias said he thought something was suspicious when the credit card Emmert-Stamm tried to use was declined.

Then, he was even more suspicious, saying ,"I looked in there [his car] and I saw a gun on the floorboard, on the driver's side there."

Deputy Chief David Lutz with the Edinburgh Police Department says they were also alerted by a concerned citizen that a person was driving on a flat tire, scattering parts on the road.

Police arrested Emmert-Stamm, and found that Cadillac wasn't the only car stolen.

"He was just a one person crime spree. He went from Hendricks, to Marion, to Shelby, to Johnson, and was heading toward Brown County," explained Lutz.

Lutz said Emmert-Stamm had first stolen his grandfather's truck early Tuesday morning.

"He was upset, stressed out, because his grandpa just bonded him out of jail, for a burglary in Hendricks County," explained Lutz. "He was upset over catching that new case, and he needed to get out of the house and go somewhere."

But then, Lutz says he ran out of gas, and a cab driver stopped near Avon to help him push it out of the road.

Avon Police tell 24-Hour News 8 the cab driver told Emmert-Stamm he would take him to a BP Gas Station along US 36 to get more gas.

Police say Emmert-Stamm told the cab driver he "didn't like BP gas stations," so they continued on.

At some point, they say Emmert-Stamm pulled a gun from his waist-band and told the cab driver to keep driving.

Finally, they arrived at a Shell Station, where the cab driver jumped out of the cab, and they say Emmert-Stamm jumped behind the wheel.

Lutz said, "This gentleman here denies robbing the cab driver, yet he says he had the cab."

Somehow, Lutz says he got to his grandfather's again, this time taking the Cadillac, billfold, three guns, and prescription meds.

They say he was using Xanex and bought spice with his grandfather's money, until that flat tire stopped him at a tire shop in Edinburgh where police eventually picked him up.

Emmert-Stamm's grandfather told 24-Hour News 8 he's terribly upset and sad about this turn of events. He says they love their grandson dearly, and they hope he gets the help he needs.

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