Accused car thief arrested while allegedly stealing from Walmart seven months later

BATON ROUGE – Deputies arrested an accused car thief while he was working a shift at Walmart on Tuesday. 

According to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, deputies chased after a stolen vehicle July 7, 2022. Deputies followed the stolen vehicle from Jones Creek Road to Central Thruway where it crossed a median and oncoming traffic and drove down a hill into a wooded area. 

A woman exited the vehicle on the passenger’s side and deputies were able to take her into custody. She identified the person driving the vehicle as her boyfriend, then-25-year-old John Motta. Deputies were unable to locate the stolen vehicle after it drove into the woods. 

Tuesday, seven months after the initial chase, a deputy was called to Walmart on O’Neal Lane due to a man allegedly having not paid for roughly $875 worth of merchandise.

The man initially gave the responding deputy a fake name, but he was eventually found to be Motta, who had an active warrant for his arrest for illegal possession of stolen things, aggravated flight from an officer, and aggravated obstruction of a highway for the July theft and following pursuit.