Columbus man arrested after allegedly stealing truck with dog

A local man was arrested after he allegedly stole a truck with the owner’s dog inside. Columbus Police say it happened Sunday morning while the truck was parked in front of a home in the 300 block of Center Street. At approximately 10:30 a.m., the truck’s owner told officers that he left his truck running in front a friend’s home while he was carrying groceries to the house when an unknown person stole the vehicle. The owner also stated that his dog was inside the truck at the time it was stolen.

Officers from the Columbus Police Department and Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department spotted the stolen truck a short time later and tried to stop it. The truck crashed through two locked gates at a business on South Gladstone Avenue where the truck came to a stop. The suspect, 43-year-old Richard L. Gahwiller, of Columbus, was taken into custody. The dog was unharmed and both it, and the truck, were returned. Gahwiller is facing preliminary charges of Auto Theft, Theft and Leaving the Scene of an Accident.