Utica Man Arrested for Stealing City School Bus, He Claims it Belonged to Him

It's very common for an individual to be accused of and arrested for stealing a car, truck or van. But, it's not too often that someone is arrested for stealing a school bus. That is exactly what happened in the City of Utica.

Police say units were dispatched to the area of Eagle Street and Park Avenue at approximately 8:15 a.m. Tuesday morning to assist Durham Bus Services with a situation they were dealing with. Police say employees reported the theft a school bus. Durham handles the transportation of students in the Utica City School District.

The employees called police when they recognized a bus was missing from their fleet following their count. When they recognized the bus was missing they pulled up the technology to track the location of the bus via GPS. They ultimately determined the bus was located at the intersection of Park and Eagle.

When they located the bus, a man approached the employees and was holding the keys to the bus and a tablet associated with Durham operations. Police say the male stated the bus and tablet belonged to him and nobody was taking them from him. It was this encounter that led employees to contact the UPD. When officers arrived, police say they detained the man and began their investigation.

Their investigation revealed that the man, identified as 29-year-old Daniel Finley, had allegedly taken the bus around 1:00 a.m. Police learned this from reviewing bus security camera footage. Upon stealing it, Finley allegedly drove the bus to the intersection where police were initially called to. He was arrested and is facing charges of Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property.