Image Via Morgan County Sheriff's Office
An Alabama man found himself back behind bars shortly after being released, following a brazen theft of a corrections department vehicle. Andrew Joseph Chenoweth, 33, from Vinemont, Alabama, made headlines last week for his fleeting taste of freedom before a rapid return to custody.
Released from the Morgan County Jail after serving 568 days for charges including burglary, possession, and traffic violations, Chenoweth’s freedom was short-lived. Authorities report that upon his release, he seized the opportunity to steal a 2009 Ford Crown Victoria parked in the jail’s lot, a vehicle owned by the corrections department.
The theft did not go unnoticed. A jail lieutenant, witnessing the act, was quick to follow Chenoweth and alert local law enforcement. The stolen vehicle was soon intercepted on 6th Ave in Decatur, merely a mile and a half from the scene of the crime, leading to Chenoweth’s swift recapture and subsequent re-incarceration.
The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office has now charged Chenoweth with first-degree theft, setting his bond at $20,000. This incident underscores a peculiar lapse in judgment, transforming what could have been a moment of newfound freedom into an immediate return to confinement.
