URBANA – An Urbana man who allegedly had a car stolen for burglary shortly after his release from prison last week has been charged with criminal charges.
If Melvin Hathorn, 22, who gave an address at block 700 on East Fairlawn Drive, is convicted of possession of a stolen vehicle, he could serve sentence after sentence for burglary due to his arrest in late November.
Prosecutor Julia Rietz said on December 21 that a man’s keys and wallet were stolen from his coat while he was at the activity and recreation center on Peabody Drive in Champaign. He also found that his car had been stolen from the parking lot.
Later that day, an Illinois Secretary of State discovered the car on Bloomington Road and stopped it. Hathorn drove the car and told the officer he bought it from someone for $ 500 and that person claimed they got it off campus.
Hathorn was charged Monday with possession of a stolen vehicle and faces a suspended sentence of three to seven years in prison if convicted.
Hathorn was released from the county jail on December 20 after placing a $ 250 cash loan on a home burglary and burglary case allegedly holding a room at the Rodeway Inn on West Killarney Street in Urbana on November 27 entered and stole $ 340. Sentences in this case range from four to 15 years in prison.
He is due back on trial on Jan. 25 in both cases and is currently on hold in lieu of a $ 12,500 bond.
Rietz said he had no criminal record.
