Salem man jailed in connection with $16K trailer theft
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A Salem man on the lam from state police since New Year’s Eve was apprehended Wednesday and arraigned on theft and receiving stolen property charges.
William Elvin Cochran, 33, of Hawk Drive, is in the county jail on $250,000 bond after state police charged him with receiving stolen property and theft. He is accused of the Dec. 28 theft of a travel trailer from Benczo Auto Repair along Route 51 in Rostraver.
Hawk’s girlfriend, Courtney Cline, 33, of Delmont, was arrested on identical charges and jailed on $25,000 bond, according to court dockets.
The pair are charged with the theft of a $16,000 2013 Bullet Travel Trailer that was recovered at Cline’s home.
Troopers used video surveillance tapes from nearby businesses to track Cochran to a gold 2000 Ford Excursion used in the theft, according to court records. When the couple pulled into the parking lot of Benczo Auto Repair along Route 51, Trooper Matthew Gavrish said the license plate on the SUV appeared to be covered to avoid detection.
Gavrish said police quickly identified Cochran as a suspect because of his extensive criminal record including a 2018 arrest by the same police unit for running a chop shop out of his home.
On Dec. 31, a trooper from Kiski drove past Cline’s home on Stoler Drive and saw a travel trailer parked there matching the one that was stolen.
Delmont police obtained a search warrant. When officers arrived at the scene, both Cline and Cochran were outside, Gavrish reported.
“Cochran, upon noticing law enforcement (approaching), immediately fled the area on foot,” Gavrish wrote.
Officers from multiple jurisdictions searched for him for several hours in Delmont, Export and Salem, according to police reports. Police could not locate Cochran until he was tracked to a Greensburg-area motel Wednesday, authorities said.
Cline told police that she did not know the trailer was stolen “but figured it was because he took back roads driving home through New Stanton and Greensburg.” She also told investigators she cleaned the trailer Dec. 30 because “they planned to drive it (New Year’s Eve) to camp that weekend somewhere in Ohio or West Virginia.”
Cochran pleaded guilty in July 2019 to running a chop shop, receiving stolen property and theft and was sentenced to serve up to five years in prison under a plea bargain , according to court dockets.