Police: East Texas man stole car from Taco Bueno parking lot after applying for job there

Courtney Cordell Wheat, 29, has been charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle for allegedly stealing a car from the parking lot of a Taco Bueno restaurant in Kilgore — minutes after he had finished applying for a job there. less Courtney Cordell Wheat, 29, has been charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle for allegedly stealing a car from the parking lot of a Taco Bueno restaurant in Kilgore — minutes after he had finished applying ... more Photo: Gregg County Jail Photo: Gregg County Jail Image 1 of / 45 Caption Close Police: East Texas man stole car from Taco Bueno parking lot after applying for job there 1 / 45 Back to Gallery

A 29-year-old East Texas man has been accused of stealing a car from the parking lot of a Taco Bueno restaurant — minutes after he had finished applying for a job there.

News station KLTV reports Courtney Cordell Wheat allegedly took a Datsun 280ZX left running in the Kilgore store's parking lot on Tuesday after submitting his application.

"Who goes and applies for a job and then steals a car in the parking lot?" Kilgore Assistant Police Chief Roman Roberson told KLTV.

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Brandon Jones, the car's owner, told the news station that he had returned to the restaurant to get a meal for his son that had been left out of his order.

"I saw my car just dip down and I knew someone was in my car," Jones told the news station.

Jones ran outside and failed to break the car's window before Wheat took off, Jones said.

A Taco Bueno manager tried to follow Wheat but failed, according to KLTV.

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Longview police later found Wheat at a Budget Inn on Wednesday, the Kilgore Police Department said in a Facebook post.

Here's your sign- Last night a man entered a local eating establishment to get a bite to eat. Unfortunately, he left his... Posted by Kilgore Police Department on Wednesday, February 3, 2016

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Wheat has been charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle, a state jail felony punishable by a maximum two-year prison sentence.

The 29-year-old man is being held in Gregg County Jail on a $3,500 bond, according to online jail records.

jfechter@mySA.com

Twitter: @JFreports