A Midway man, 40-year-old Jason Chorba, has been charged with felony theft of property in connection with a motorcycle reported stolen from an apartment complex in Mountain Home on Friday.
According to the probable cause affidavit, two investigators from the Mountain Home Police Department were on West Sixth Street in Mountain Home when they observed a male riding a motorcycle similar to the description of the one reported stolen.
The motorcycle did not have a license plate and was flat black in color.
The officers made contact with the driver, identified as Chorba. They then observed the motorcycle was painted black, with some blue and white showing through the black paint. The ignition switch had been broken and wiring spliced to start the engine.
Chorba was described as sweating heavily as he explained he did not have a driver’s license. He told the officers he had traded for the motorcycle from an unnamed friend. He then allegedly told law enforcement he had stolen the motorcycle and had taken too many Klonopin pills on Friday night. He said he remembered taking the motorcycle, but his memory is very cloudy.
His bond was set at $5,000.
This is not Chorba’s first brush with the law regarding a stolen vehicle. In early 2017, Chorba told law officers he took one vehicle and tried to steal another in an effort to escape drones chasing him. He was given eight years probation after pleading guilty to charges stemming from the events.
His sentenced followed Mountain Home police receiving a report of a man with shoulder length hair, wearing camouflage pants and a dark shirt attempting to steal a truck parked at a residence in the city.
According to the probable cause affidavit, a man — later identified as Chorba — had broken the window of the truck with a stone to gain entry to the vehicle. He also damaged the steering column in an attempt to “hot wire” and start the truck’s engine.
Chorba was spotted in the vehicle by a witness, and he fled on foot in the direction of Care Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation on Burnett Drive. A black backpack was left behind containing property identified as belonging to Chorba.
A short time later, police received a call an employee’s vehicle had been taken from the parking lot at the nursing home. That vehicle was later found in the woods in the Buzzard Roost Road area. Investigators learned Chorba had gone to two different residences asking for assistance, saying his truck had a flat tire and he needed to use the telephone.
He was reported to have requested to be taken to a mental health facility because he was hearing voices.
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