Will Richmond officer taste reward for stolen Cadillac?

The stolen car has been found. Now the question is, who gets the 25 dozen doughnuts?

Early Tuesday afternoon, police located the stolen 2004 Cadillac CTS belonging to J.C. Price, the owner of Square Donuts in Richmond.

Price reported the vehicle stolen from his home in Richmond's Oak Park area at about 5 a.m. Monday, then later posted the offer of a reward on Facebook — 25 dozen doughnuts for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible.

Shortly after noon Tuesday, Maj. Jim Branum was on patrol for the Richmond Police Department, acting as day shift supervisor because other officers were on vacation or in training.

Branum was aware that a house at the corner of Wernle and Garwood roads was sitting empty. On a hunch, he took his patrol car down the driveway circling the house.

That's when he spotted the Cadillac in a field behind the home.

Branum wasn't acting on a tip, and an arrest hasn't been made.

So did he earn the reward?

"I'm obviously going to take some (doughnuts) to RPD," said Price.

But he hasn't decided about the 25 dozen. "I don't know what I'm going to do," he said.

The sweet reward has drawn a lot of attention. Price said the post on the Square Donuts of Richmond Facebook page had been viewed more than 59,000 times by Tuesday afternoon — the biggest response he'd ever seen.

In addition, he's had visits from WRTV-Channel 6 and WXIN-Fox 59 television crews from Indianapolis.

"It kind of turned out bigger than I thought it would," said Price.

Despite all the attention, the incident isn't over for Price. He still wants to know who took his car.

Detectives processed the vehicle and the area where it was found Tuesday looking for clues. Branum said detectives told him they think it was used in other thefts, and he said tracks indicated it might have come and gone from the field several times.

Richmond Police Department Sgt. Mike Britt said Monday the car could have been stolen by the same individual or individuals responsible for a number of vehicle break-ins in the Oak Park area during the same night. The keys were in the Cadillac's ignition, Britt said.

"There were numerous cars in the neighborhood that had been gone through," Britt said. "There were unlocked vehicles they had gone through and they hit the jackpot — a Caddie with keys."

Price said the car had suffered a bit during its overnight adventure, with a dent and a piece hanging off the back. "They did a little joy riding," he said. The car seats for Price's 4-year-old and 5-month-old were missing from the back seat, but a stroller was still in the vehicle.

Recent stolen vehicles have averaged being gone a day and a half or two days before officers find them abandoned, Britt said.

Britt said many of the thefts and break-ins have targeted unlocked vehicles.

"They don't appear to be forcing their way in," he said. "Lock the door and don't leave your keys."