AUBURN - Derek West, 40, of Somerset, Penn., is charged in Nemaha County with theft on March 19.

An arrest affidavit says sheriff’s deputies identified a Chevy Cruz  parked near Highway 75 in rural Nemaha County as stolen about 370 miles away out of Clinton County, Iowa on March 19.

Deputies suspect that West stole the car from a farm in Iowa after being released from jail and was on his way to South Dakota, when he ran out of gas.

Witnesses told investigators that the gas station clerk in Auburn would not give West free gasoline, so he asked some men seated at the store. He was given $10, but only used $4.67 of it to get gas.
With the $4.67 worth of gas, West would have run out of gas again north of Omaha, still about 130 miles from his stated destination.

In a separate court case, the Nemaha County Attorney’s Office has filed a felony failure to appear charge against 39-year-old Nathan Palmer. The county prosecutor says Palmer failed to appear Jan. 8 and Jan. 13 for sentencing on a possession charge. Sentencing has been rescheduled to May 14.