LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — A 22-year-old man from Shawboro, North Carolina, was arrested in Laurel County on Thursday evening following a theft and trespassing incident. Rodney Merida was taken into custody near the intersection of Highway 490 and KY 3094, about three miles north of London, around 5 p.m.
According to the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a trespassing complaint and observed Merida running on foot. After a brief search, law enforcement found him hiding in an abandoned house nearby.
Investigators determined Merida had entered the back of a van parked on a property along KY 490, stolen several items, and fled when confronted by the property owner. Despite initially resisting arrest and refusing to cooperate, Merida was eventually apprehended.
He has been charged with the following offenses:
Fleeing or evading police – third degree
Criminal trespassing – third degree
Theft by unlawful taking (contents from a vehicle valued between $1,000 and $10,000)
Resisting arrest
Menacing
Merida is currently being held at the Laurel County Correctional Center.