A jury on Wednesday found Michael Thompson not guilty of stealing four tires from his employer at Wholesale Import Cars.
After a two-day trial in Hamilton County Criminal Court, defense attorney Joshua Weiss made a persuasive closing argument that the 48-year-old Thompson intended to pay for the tires from his paycheck.
On July 24, 2014, Thompson opened the business on Signal Mountain Road as usual with the keys entrusted to him by his boss. He had worked for the company six years, detailing and washing cars. On that particular morning he parked in a different spot – behind a dumpster – and loaded four Michelin tires in the back seat of his Volkswagen.
Attorney Weiss said Thompson planned to pay for the tires out of his paycheck like he had done in the past for other items and services from Wholesale Imports.
But Thompson’s boss Russell Webster never gave his employee the opportunity to explain this, it was claimed. Simply, when he got to work later that morning and saw something sticking out from Thompson’s back seat, he called the police.
Thompson was arrested and charged with theft of property over $1,000, a charge that was later reduced to theft of property over $500.
The defendant – wearing khakis and a collared shirt – nodded up and down as attorney Weiss defended his innocence, saying a good thief would have fled the scene. But Thompson stayed after he packed the tires in his car because he intended to pay for them.
The fact that he carried them out to his car in front of his co-worker and friend Billy Wigley served as proof he had no intent of robbing the store, the attorney said.
“He was going to purchase those tires, and the money was going to come out of his check,” attorney Weiss said.
Prosecutor Charlie Minor reminded the jury of Mr. Wigley’s testimony in court the day before. When the coworker saw Thompson walk out with the tires, he asked him what he was doing.
“I’m getting mine,” Thompson allegedly said.
Though Mr. Webster was a “Type A, demanding boss,” he was also “extremely generous.” He bailed Thompson out when he got in trouble, gave him interest-free loans, and paid him $30,000 a year.
“That’s a lot of money to wash and detail cars,” prosecutor Minor said.
Mr. Webster even went so far as to give Thompson a key to his house. The defendant was a trusted employee who, on July 24, 2014, “destroyed that trust.” The prosecutor said that, based on company protocol, Thompson loading the tires in his car the way he did gave no one suspicions as to what he was doing: stealing.
“The owner clearly did not give him consent to take those tires…They don’t even fit any of his vehicles,” prosecutor Minor said, before going on to state that Thompson planned to resell the tires.
According to the state, the tires were worth between $800 and $1,000 – an important fact the charge of theft over $500 hung on, because if the tires were worth less than $500, the charge would not hold.
The day before, Mr. Wigley testified they were “thousand dollar tires,” but he would pay only $50 apiece for them.
Thompson’s intent was to steal the tires, prosecutor Minor said.
“He’s guilty of this theft. But even worse, he destroyed all of the trust that these people had.”
With closing arguments completed, Judge Don Poole charged the jury with its duty to discern a just verdict.
An hour of deliberation ticked by before the jury returned with Thompson’s judgment: not guilty.