Police work with woman to track stolen phone in Oxford
OXFORD — A woman used a friend’s phone to track her own after her backpack was stolen with the phone inside.
The woman made a report at 7:30 a.m. Nov. 1, stating she had put the backpack down in an alley near her house in order to catch her cat. Officers responded to the area of Miami University’s cross country track on Bonham Road.
A police sergeant responded to the victim’s location and updated an officer on the location of the phone as it moved from Sycamore Street, then Northridge Drive, Jacob Drive and College Corner Pike. It finally stopped at the Oxford Walmart store. The ping of the phone showed it to be located in the third row of the parking lot near the grocery side of the store and close to the building.
The officer’s attention was drawn to a male inside a vehicle where the officer saw the suspect removing items from a black backpack.
The suspect was identified as Westin Edward Mosley, 34. When the officer asked him what he was doing, Mosley said he had found the backpack in an alley and was looking through it to find out who it belonged to so he could return it. He handed over an iPhone and purple woman’s wallet, saying he had found them in the backpack.
Due to other items being in the vehicle, he was asked for permission to search, which he granted. The officer reported that inside Mosley’s jacket pocket was the victim’s debit card and two gift cards. He was taken to the police station for processing.
Mosley, of Somerville, was charged with theft, a fifth-degree felony, and taken to the Butler County Jail. The vehicle was towed and impounded. All recovered items were returned to the victim.
On Nov. 4, Mosley pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor theft in county Area I Court. Visiting Judge Greg Vogt gave Mosley a suspended 180 day jail sentence and a $500 fine.
Mosley has been arrested previously. In 2017, he was arrested in Camden on suspicion of stealing a 2000 Camaro from Oxford. He was convicted in Preble County of received stolen property in April 2018.
Butler County Clerk of Courts records show Mosley was arrested in 2014 on suspicion of drugs and driving under suspension. And in 2017 he was convicted after being arrested and charged for illegal possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs.