POLICE: Rome Man Reports Vehicle Stolen After Crashing It

A Rome man has been arrested and accused of falsely reporting an incident, and making a punishable false written statement. He was also ticketed for driving with a suspended license.

New Hartford Police report that after allegedly crashing his vehicle, Matthew Ouellette of Rome, reported to Officer Freiberger that his vehicle had been taken from the parking lot of a local restaurant. Police later found his vehicle crashed on Route 12 near Lomond Place. Upon further investigation Ouellette is accused of crashing the vehicle and then reporting it stolen to Police.

Ouellette was subsequently arrested for one count of Falsely Reporting an Incident in the third degree a Class B Misdemeanor, Making a Punishable False Written Statement, a class A Misdemeanor and was issued a Traffic Ticket for operating a motor vehicle on a suspended license. Ouellette is due back in Town of New Hartford Court at a later date. The accident is being investigated by the Utica Police Department and more charges maybe pending.