Truck, trailer stolen from Meeker area; blood trail raises concerns

MEEKER | During the night of June 4 a truck with a trailer were stolen from a business at Curtis Creek Industrial Park in northeast Meeker. The truck contained numerous tools and a semi-auto handgun. The trailer had lumber and a new safe door. On June 6, the trailer with lumber and safe door were recovered on Moffat County Rd. 45, which connects to RBC Rd. 15. Evidence was recovered at the scene.
On June 7 the stolen truck was recovered and a male and female were arrested after the truck and subjects were parked on a deputy’s property near Douglas, Wyo. The male, Jonathan Barber, 32 and the female, Kristal Yerby, 39, are both from out of the area.
The handgun was not found in the vehicle. However, it was found in another vehicle in Fremont County, Wyo., where a male tried to elude law enforcement in a stolen jeep out of Rawlins, Wyo. A male, Westly Page, 28, and 21-year-old Samantha Vandervort were arrested at that incident. It is believed the above subjects had stolen a vehicle outside of Rifle, Colo., the same night as the Meeker theft.
Barber and Yerby were transported back to Meeker where they bonded out of jail for $250 each, set by Judge Nieley. Warrants will be issued for the other two subjects for theft of the handgun. It is believed all four subjects were traveling together.
Meeker Police responded to an unrelated incident on Third Street the same morning where a resident found blood inside of her door. The blood drops were on the street and to the door of another neighbor’s walkway too. The resident did not hear any noises during the night. The blood then went to the alley. The door to the residence was unlocked.
“We believe it is not related to the truck theft as the resident’s keys were in the vehicle and the next-door neighbor’s keys were in his vehicle. The hospital had no reports of injuries. We believe the blood was from an intoxicated person who was not sure where he was staying. We heard someone had gotten into a fight that night, but that has not been confirmed,” stated Chief Phil Stubblefield.
In response to these incidents, the Meeker Police Department is reminding residents to take keys out of their vehicles and lock car doors along with house doors to prevent crimes of opportunity. Report suspicious incidents to police.