Washington County man accused of burying his Hummer to collect insurance arrested
Bruce Parnell was booked into the Washington County Jail Monday morning.
WASHINGTON CO, Ala. (WALA) -A Washington County man accused of burying his Hummer to collect insurance money, has been arrested.
Last week warrants were issued for Bruce Parnell, after investigators found the buried Hummer that Parnell reported stolen.
Parnell was booked into the Washington County Jail Monday morning.
Deputies say, the 2006 Hummer he reported to be stolen back in 2016 was found buried this month by investigators.
Sheriff Richard Stringer says as they continue to investigate, not only Parnell but others, more charges could be coming.
“The evidence has led to this burial of the vehicle. We did have enough evidence to go ahead and charge him,” Sheriff Stringer said. “And we are continuing to investigate the case and there may be other charges coming which still will be dealing with insurance fraud.”
After being dug up, the Hummer is now almost unrecognizable.
Sheriff Stringer says Parnell collected more than $22,000 from insurance.
Something he feels should have been looked into more.
“That’s a good question. We questioned that also with the insurance companies,” Sheriff Stringer said. “They apparently don’t do much investigating on their claims. And he has had other claims that are very suspicious and the insurance companies seem to not hesitate to pay the claims.”
The sheriff says the Hummer was buried on the property of Parnell’s relative.
He says it’s possible that relative could face charges.
Parnell bonded out within a few hours on a $50,000 bond.
He was charged with insurance fraud and false reporting to an officer.
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