The roadside assistance company AAA has severed ties with Pilgrim Road Auto, the only local AAA affiliate on Martha’s Vineyard. The action comes after a Pilgrim Auto employee, Brett Geddis, was arrested by Oak Bluffs police and charged with stealing a wallet from a customer who called for help with her car on Dec. 23.
“Earlier this week, AAA Northeast formally ended its contractual relationship with Pilgrim Road Auto Repair,” according to a statement from Lloyd Albert, AAA senior vice president. “AAA members on the Vineyard should continue to call the toll-free number noted on their membership card when they need roadside assistance. They will be serviced promptly by local tow operators on the Island.”
According to a police report, Mr. Geddis responded to a call for help for a car that would not start on Pond View Drive. The car owner told police Mr. Geddis was unsuccessful in starting the vehicle, but sat in the car alone for 10 minutes while waiting for a battery to charge. Mr. Geddis then left for another call. The car owner discovered her wallet, containing more than $200, credit cards, and driver’s license, was missing from her pocketbook in the passenger seat of the car. She told police Mr. Geddis was the only person who had access to the pocketbook, and she believed he stole the wallet.
A short time later, police spotted Mr. Geddis in the Pond View Drive area, driving the Pilgrim Road Auto tow truck. When police searched the cab of the tow truck, they did not find the missing wallet, but they did find prescription narcotics concealed in a winter hat.
“I picked up the hat and observed a prescription bill bottle that had the label torn off,” wrote Det. Jeffrey LaBell in his report. “I later identified these pills using a pill identifier as Alprazolam 2mg, which is a class E controlled substance.
Det. LaBell also found Diazepam 10mg pills, which are a class C controlled substance, according the report. “Brett Geddis did not provide a prescription for either of these medications.”
Police later found a hypodermic needle and a spoon in a jacket, marijuana, and two replica firearms.
“One was a metal revolver that contained an authentic looking cylinder with actual metal rounds that resemble bullets. The gun was CO2 powered. The second gun was a black 4.5 mm BB gun that was loaded.”
At his arraignment on Dec. 24 in Edgartown district court, Mr. Geddis was charged with larceny and possession of drugs.
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