Jeffersonville official accused of theft in Kentucky

Clark County

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November 13, 2009

Warrant issued for Peggy Wilder over car trade-in

By DAVID A. MANN The News and Tribune Fri Nov 13, 2009, 08:44 PM EST

Kentucky officials have issued a warrant for Jeffersonville Clerk-Treasurer Peggy Wilder for felony theft by deception. The warrant stems from a complaint by a Louisville car salesman, who says Wilder traded in a vehicle for which she didn’t have a title.

Numerous attempts to reach Wilder for comment on this story were unsuccessful.

On Sept. 1, Wilder traded in a Volvo for a Mercedes wagon, according to Ronnie Anderson, of Carter & Anderson Motorsports, on Louisville’s Barrett Avenue. At the time of the trade, Wilder told Anderson that she didn’t have the Volvo’s title with her, but that she would bring it to him the following day.

He said he regularly allows buyers to make such arrangements, also noting that he held onto the Mercedes’ title until he could get a copy of the Volvo’s.

“It’s just happens in the business,” he said. “You might size somebody up and decide [whether or not to allow such a trade.]”

Anderson said days went by and Wilder never brought him the title. He ran a check of the vehicle’s identification number and found that the Volvo had never been transferred to her name after she purchased it in 2006. It was still in the name of the New Albany lot where she bought it.

Anderson said he’s called Wilder numerous times and even came to Jeffersonville City Hall to find her, with no luck.

“She’s running around in a car that’s in my name,” he said, noting that he still has the title to the Mercedes. Anderson went to the county attorney’s office in Jefferson County, Ky., and filed a complaint.

“The judge reviews the facts and has decided that there is probable cause that a crime has indeed occurred,” said Bill Pattleson, spokesman for the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office.

As of Friday, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office had not served the warrant. Pattleson said that because Wilder is not being accused of a violent crime, she will not be arrested when she is served the warrant.

Instead, she’ll be ordered to appear before a Kentucky judge for a probable-cause hearing. If that hearing determines that Wilder had committed a felony, she would be formally indicted, he said.

Wilder also is under investigation by special prosecutor Chris Owens, from Scott County. He is reviewing allegations of credit card misuse by Wilder concerning the city’s finances.

Owens accepted the case from Clark County Prosecutor Steve Stewart in August. There has been no timetable announced for his decision on whether to file charges or not.