Man cleared on car theft charges

The Monroe County Prosecutor's Office dismissed charges against Bloomington resident Jerick Mills on Dec. 21, 2005, clearing him of involvement in a series of car break-ins, according to Monroe County Court records. \nMills was with resident Danny Smith and two juveniles when the four were arrested by the IU Police Department in early October 2004, according to an Oct. 6, 2004, article in the Indiana Daily Student. \nThe arrests, which were the result of suspicious activity near cars in the McNutt Quad parking lot, led to an investigation and the recovery of $7,000 in stolen goods. Officers found wire clippers and a pellet gun on the persons of some of those arrested, according to the article. \nThe night of the arrests was the only night Mills ever went out with the group he was arrested with, and he had nothing to do with thefts some members of the group were charged with, said Mills' mother Toby Mills. She added he was not carrying any of the suspicious tools found during the arrest. \nIn a letter to the court, the Prosecutor's Office requested the dismissal "in the interest of justice"