EBS STAFF
On Nov. 1, a resident of Big Sky was arrested following the disappearance of a vehicle that was reported missing from its location in Big Sky Town Center. John Elijah Hurn, 30, of Big Sky was arrested for theft following events that provided probable cause that he “purposely or knowingly exerted unauthorized control” of the stolen vehicle, according to a signed affidavit released by the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office after the arrest.
At 8 a.m. on Nov. 1, the owner of a white Jeep Renegade reported their vehicle stolen from a parking lot behind 99 Town Center Ave. At 9:15 a.m., the owner updated dispatch that after searching nearby, the vehicle had been located in a residential neighborhood south of Town Center, unlocked, undamaged, with the keys inside, along with a half-full can of PBR beer and a cell phone. The beer and the cell phone did not belong to the victim.
The responding law enforcement personnel used information from the cell phone to locate Hurn at his residence, which was “slightly over 200 feet away” from the stolen vehicle, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit stated that although Hurn “was not forthcoming with his answers to simple questions,” it was established Hurn had been at Blue Buddha Sushi Lounge the night before, close to where the vehicle went missing, that he had lost his phone in the parking lot of the restaurant, and confirmed the phone found in the stolen vehicle was his. Hurn said he did not own a vehicle. He did not admit to stealing the victim’s vehicle.
“The facts of this case establish probable cause that John Elijah Hurn purposely or knowingly exerted unauthorized control over property of the victim and had the purpose of depriving the victim of the property, purposely or knowingly used and/or abandoned the property in a manner that deprived the victim of the property, and/or used and/or abandoned the property knowing that the use or abandonment probably will deprive the owner of the property,” the affidavit stated.
Hurn was arrested for theft of a “light vehicle”—valued over $5,000—and transported to the Gallatin County Detention Center where he is being held on this charge as a felony. His bond was set at $10,000 at a Nov. 2 hearing, EBS confirmed with the detention center.
