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Suspect charged in theft of Vienna boy’s wheelchair

Parkersburg News and Sentinel photo by Jeffrey Saulton Delores Katherine Jackson, left, is arraigned Wednesday on a grand larceny charge by Wood County Magistrate Brenda Marshall. She was arrested by Vienna Police Sgt. Rick Berdine, right.
Parkersburg News and Sentinel photo by Jeffrey Saulton
Delores Katherine Jackson, left, is arraigned Wednesday on a grand larceny charge by Wood County Magistrate Brenda Marshall. She was arrested by Vienna Police Sgt. Rick Berdine, right.

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Bond was set Wednesday afternoon for a Vienna woman charged in connection with the theft of a wheelchair.

Delores Katherine Jackson, 69, 1202 19th St., Apt. 1, Vienna, was charged with grand larceny, a felony, in the theft of a wheelchair from Brantly Poling, 3, of Vienna, who has spina bifida, police said.

Jackson’s bond was set at $5,000 by Wood County Magistrate Brenda Marshall. She did not qualify for a court-appointed attorney.

Vienna Chief of Police George Young said Jackson was arrested at approximately 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Wood County Magistrate Court, on Feb. 8, 2015, the Poling family reported the wheelchair, valued at $4,964, was stolen from their Vienna residence.

Police said the family said the chair was left outside sitting next to its side porch when it was taken.

On Feb. 14, the wheelchair was returned to the place where it was last seen by the Poling family.

During a police interview with a witness, who is Jackson’s roommate, sometime after Jackson put the wheelchair in the apartment, Jackson allegedly asked her roommate to research the specifics of the chair, police said. At one point Jackson also asked the roommate to advertise the wheelchair on eBay for $1,000, police said.

In an interview with police, Jackson allegedly said she saw the wheelchair “a few days ago” at the end of the driveway, describing a house matching the Poling house. Jackson said she took the chair to keep someone from stealing it, police said.

As the days went by nobody claimed the wheelchair so she said she pushed the chair back to the residence, taking a route through back yards and an alley, police said.

Throughout the week Jackson said she made no attempt to contact the family to notify them she had the chair, police said.

Poling family members said the only thing missing from the wheelchair is a Velcro patch with Brantly’s name.

Jackson claims she never saw the patch on the chair, police said.

Her preliminary hearing in magistrate court will be set in the next 20 days.

Young said the detectives did a great job on the case and witnesses were cooperative. He said local media coverage of the theft made it impossible for the wheelchair to be sold.

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