Man pleads guilty after joyride with dog in stolen car

By Linda Cicoira

     A south-central man stole an unattended and idling car from the Onley Walmart’s parking lot in 2021. He and the owner’s dog, Piglet, who was sitting in the passenger seat, then went on a joyride to Greenville, North Carolina, where they may have gone undetected had the thief not allegedly set fire to a university squad car.

     Twenty-one-year-old Fernando Daniel Laurens(pictured), of Broken Arrow, Arkansas, abandoned the Subaru. Piglet, the best friend of local resident Caroline Lewis, was left tied to a post in a North Carolina shopping center. The pup was unharmed.

     Laurens pleaded guilty Thursday in Accomack Circuit Court to stealing the Subaru. It had at least $2,400 worth of damage to the interior. The defendant was ordered to pay restitution. The dog theft charge will not be prosecuted as part of a plea bargain with Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Baker. Lewis was just relieved that Piglet was returned in good health. She reportedly said her dog probably enjoyed the trip because she loves going for a drive.

     Laurens was sentenced to three years in prison with all but time served suspended.

     Defense lawyer Isabel Kaldenbach said her client was having a “mental health crisis” when the incident occurred and probably would have otherwise sought an insanity finding.

     The deal was struck because he is facing a mandatory five-year federal prison term for malicious destruction of property owned by East Carolina University that was purchased in whole or part with federal funds.

     Court records state the fire charge alleges “a substantial risk of injury to any person.”