Woman dumps soda on head of man trying to steal her car, say police

POCATELLO — A man who tried to steal an occupied vehicle faces multiple charges.

Jaiten Lee Moss, 24, has been charged with felonies for robbery and burglary, as well as a misdemeanor for resisting arrest, court records show.

Pocatello Police officers were called to a store on the 300 block of South 4th Avenue around 1:45 p.m. on Feb 15 after receiving a call reporting an attempted vehicle theft. The caller told police a man was trying to steal a car with its owner still in it, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

When officers arrived at the scene, they spoke with a woman who said that a man, later identified as Moss, climbed into her car and tried to steal it. She told officers she poured her drink on him, and he ran away.

While officers were speaking with the woman, a truck pulled up and directed their attention to a man at the corner of East Bonneville Street and South 4th Avenue.

“That’s him, that’s him,” the truck driver told police, according to the affidavit.

The officer ran toward Moss, and Moss tried to run away.

The officer shoved Moss to the ground.

Moss tried multiple times to get up and run, but the officer kept him on the ground until other officers arrived.

Officers put Moss in handcuffs and tried to get him into the backseat of a patrol vehicle, but he continuously pushed away from the cruiser with his foot, the affidavit says.

The officers finally got Moss into the cruiser, with one officer pulling from the opposite side and others shoving him in. Moss was described as being “highly intoxicated” at the time of the incident.

Once he was secured, officers spoke again with the woman and others in the area.

The woman said she was leaving the parking lot when Moss opened her driver’s side door and yelled for her to get out multiple times. When she did not, the woman said Moss tried to get in the backseat and told her to drive.

She said she feared for her life when he got inside.

She grabbed the keys, got out and ran back inside the store. She said that he locked the doors and stayed inside the vehicle.

She came back and unlocked the car. Then she opened a door, dumped a 2-liter bottle of soda on his head and ran away.

During the incident, the woman said added, Moss stole a carton of cigarettes she had just bought. The cigarettes were recovered and returned to the woman.

A witness said Moss entered his Dodge Durango and rummaged through, but the man said nothing was missing from the vehicle, and he did not wish to pursue criminal charges.

Another witness said he was inside the store when he saw Moss walk into the parking lot. The witness said Moss tried to open the door of a white Mercedes but was unsuccessful so he moved on to the Durango. The witness provided officers with the same story the woman had already given them.

Moss was taken to Bannock County Jail, where he was booked and is being held on a $40,000 bond.

While they were investigating, officers received another call regarding a theft in the same area. The suspect description provided by the caller matched that of Moss, so officers took a picture of Moss and showed it to an employee of the store where the theft was reported.

Moss was identified as the man who stole beer from the store and charged with petty theft in addition to the robbery, burglary and resisting arrest charges.

He has since pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor petty theft charge and was sentenced to nine days time served and $175.50 in fees and fines.

Though Moss has been charged with the additional crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.

If he is found guilty, Moss could face life in prison for the robbery.

He is scheduled to appear in court before magistrate judge David Hooste for a preliminary hearing on March 15.