BEDFORD — An Indianapolis man and woman are facing felony theft charges in Lawrence County after a sheriff’s deputy review of surveillance footage from a local gas station allegedly caught the pair stealing a commercial garden hose.
Travis Mairel, 36, and Shelby Mairel, 26, both of Indianapolis, have been named in a probable cause affidavit filed by Lawrence County Police Department Deputy Augustus Hogan. Because both individuals have prior, unrelated convictions for theft, the state is seeking to elevate the new charges to a higher-level felony.
According to court documents, the investigation began at approximately 8:00 p.m. on May 29, 2026, when Deputy Hogan was dispatched to Johnny Junxions gas station, located at 385 Hillcrest Way, just outside Bedford.
The station’s general manager had already been in contact with Lawrence County Sheriff Greg Day regarding a theft that occurred on the property a few days prior. Deputy Hogan arrived at the scene to interview management and review the business’s security camera network.
Jones informed the deputy that someone had stolen a commercial gray garden hose, valued at approximately $100, which the staff routinely uses to water the exterior plants around the property. The hose had been stored in an outdoor patio area on the west side of the building near the customer tables.
Security Footage Captures Coordinated Effort
A review of multi-angle surveillance footage from May 27, 2026, details how the theft unfolded:
- 6:45 p.m. — A black Chrysler minivan, notably missing its front bumper, pulls into the Johnny Junxions parking lot and parks on the northwest corner of the building, adjacent to the patio.
- 6:45 p.m. to 6:46 p.m. — A woman wearing an all-blue outfit exits the driver’s seat and walks into the store’s north entrance, heading straight to the restroom. Simultaneously, a balding man wearing a black hooded jacket and gray pants exits the front passenger seat and walks directly into the patio area.
- 6:47 p.m. — Patio surveillance cameras capture the male suspect grabbing the gray watering hose off the ground where it was coiled against the building. He carries it over to the southwest corner of the structure, sets it down to conceal it, and returns to wait by the minivan.
- 6:51 p.m. — The female suspect exits the store and meets the male outside the passenger side of the van. The video shows the two conversing and looking together toward the spot where the hose was hidden. The male then opens the rear sliding passenger door, while the female climbs into the front passenger seat.
- 6:52 p.m. — The male suspect walks back over to the southwest corner of the building, retrieves the hose, and loads it into the back of the minivan. Inside the vehicle, the female suspect climbs over the center console to take over the driver’s seat.
- 6:53 p.m. — The male suspect slides into the front passenger seat, closes the door, and the vehicle exits the gas station parking lot.
Upon reviewing the high-definition security footage and extracting still photographs of the suspects’ faces, Deputy Hogan immediately recognized both individuals as Travis and Shelby Mairel. The deputy noted in his report that he was able to make a definitive identification based on multiple previous professional interactions with the couple in the line of duty.
The video and photographic evidence have been compiled and processed into the official case file. Formal arrest warrants are expected to be issued by a Lawrence County judge following the review of the affidavit, and Travis Mairel was detained on June 11th. Shelby Mairel was detained on June 16th.
All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. This article is based on the information provided in the probable cause affidavit and does not represent a final determination of guilt or innocence.
