BLANCHESTER — A Blanchester man is facing a charge of grand theft auto.

At around noon on Saturday, Aug. 22, police were called to 708 E. Center St. on a report of a stolen car.

Ptl. Ian Courtney arrived at the scene, where a woman told him her car had just been stolen from in front of her house and that her husband was pursuing the car, according to a news release from Police Chief Scott Reinbolt. Ptl. Courtney set out to find the car, without success.

“The victim’s husband told Ptl. Courtney he moved his wife’s car out of the driveway onto the street and left to run an errand,” stated Reinbolt. “He said when he returned from the errand a few minutes later, the car was gone. Ptl. Courtney interviewed several people in the neighborhood who described a suspicious man and woman in the neighborhood around the time of the theft.”

At around 4 p.m. that same day Ptl. Courtney found the car in the parking lot of the Friendship Acres apartment complex, said Reinbolt. Courtney several people in the area, who described a man seen around the car earlier in the day. The car was towed.

“Additional investigative work over the next two days involved additional interviews and examining the car for physical evidence. The evidence gathered implicated Joshua Johnson, 31, of Blanchester as the thief,” stated Reinbolt. he added that “evidence also indicated the car was running at the time it was stolen.”

The case was presented to the Clinton County Prosecuting Attorney who approved presentation of the case to the Clinton County grand jury. Reinbolt said the grand jury handed down an indictment this week charging Johnson with grand theft of a motor vehicle.

“We are grateful that we have citizens who are alert to suspicious people and activity in their neighborhoods, and that those people are willing to speak openly with our police men and women,” said Reinbolt. “If not for their help, this case would not have been solved.