BY RACHEL DOVE
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
LOVELY — A female has been arrested and her partner in crime shouldn’t be far behind her as Martin County Sheriff John Kirk is in process of obtaining a warrant for his arrest.
A criminal complaint filed by the sheriff Saturday evening states that Lara Giacomoni, 39, of Lovely, was taken into custody and charged with one count of second-degree burglary after she and James Aaron Moore, of Riverfront Road, entered a rental property Moore owns without permission or invitation.
The female resident told Kirk that Moore and Giacomoni came to her mobile home Saturday evening shortly before 10 p.m. The renter was in the bathroom at the time that Moore began beating on the door with a large, wooden stick. The commotion frightened her teenage son, and he opened the door to the duo. Once inside, the mother claims Moore began threatening her son and then proceeded, with assistance from Giacomoni, to remove food from her refrigerator, freezer and cabinets. Moore is also accused of stealing the teenager’s Puma brand tennis shoes that he wore to school. A cellphone was also reported as stolen.
Moore and Giacomoni fled the scene in a vehicle operated by Moore (who is driving without a license) and were then pulled over by Constable Bradford Preece, who had responded as backup for the sheriff. After initiating a traffic stop, the sheriff said Moore climbed from under the steering wheel into the passenger’s seat, crawling across Giacomoni, exited the passenger door and ran over the riverbank and managed to avoid detection. Inside the back seat of the vehicle, Kirk discovered the items reported as stolen.
Giacomoni was taken into custody and was transported to the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center in Paintsville, where she has recently been behind bars on an unrelated charge. Constable Preece obtained warrants on Moore Monday for fleeing and evading arrest, and Sheriff Kirk requested a warrant for the burglary charge Tuesday.
The vehicle was impounded and towed from the scene. On Sunday, Moore reported it as stolen, even though Preece had identified him as the driver.
If you are aware of Moore’s whereabouts, the sheriff asks that you contact his office at 606-298-2828.
“It’s pretty low to go in someone’s home and take food right out of their refrigerator and cabinets,” remarked the sheriff. “They stole Fruity Pebbles cereal, milk and ice cream. And taking a kid’s shoes they need for school is sad, very sad. It truly takes a cold heart to commit this type of crime. Thankfully we were able to get the items back quickly. Right when you think you’ve heard it all – there’s always someone that proves you wrong.”