Childhood dreams of stealing a school bus for a late-night joyride could have been realized last night in Anne Arundel County. But the bus didn’t have enough loose change on board for the thieves’ liking.
The duo liberated a bus from a Crownsville lot overnight, and had police searching feverishly this morning.
Anne Arundel County police released info about the theft of bus no. 874 around 5:30 a.m. They deployed “full resources” to the case, and issued a BOLO (Be On the Lookout), stating that the bus had front end damage from crashing the lot’s gate. No kids were aboard.
Being big and yellow, the bus didn’t stay hidden for long once the sun came up. An aerial unit found it before 11 a.m. near Davidsonville. Perhaps realizing that stealing a bus wasn’t as fun as it seemed, they ditched it by the side of the road.
By the afternoon, police had two suspects in custody. No word yet on their identity, but we assume there will be added penalties for causing students to miss the bus.
UPDATE 6:30 p.m. The two alleged thieves have been identified. Travis Edward Champagne and Nicole Jo-Ann Adams, both 24, were booked with theft and destruction of property, among other charges. Police caught up with them after a resident reported seeing them cross the road and get into a car near the scene of the bus crash.
In addition to stealing the bus, Champagne and Adams busted out some of the windows, and attempted to set it on fire.
Police said the two were drunk at the time of the theft. Turns out, they stole the bus because they were looking for change to buy cigarettes.
