2 Men Charged With Stealing Piece Of Paul Walker Crash Wreckage

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Criminal charges were filed Monday against two men accused of stealing a part of the wrecked Porsche Carrera GT actor Paul Walker died in, authorities said.

Jameson Brooks Witty, 18, and Anthony Edward Janow, 25, were charged with one felony count each of grand theft of personal property. They also were charged with two misdemeanor counts each of destroying evidence and resisting, obstructing and delaying a peace officer.

Witty was arrested last Thursday and Janow is expected to surrender Tuesday. Witty has since been released after posting $20,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 3.

Prosecutors allege the men stole a roof panel from the destroyed sports car when the tow truck carrying it stopped at a red light in Valencia. The theft occurred after Witty and Janow were told by a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy they could not take any part of the vehicle, prosecutors said.

An Instagram account believed to belong to Witty posted a two-panel image showing the front and back side of a flat, red car part a few days after the fatal crash killed Walker and his friend and business party, Roger Rodas. The caption read, "Piece of Paul walkers (sic) car, took it off a tow truck at a stop light @anthonyjanow #paulwalker #rip #comeup."

That photo post has since been deleted and an apology was posted on the account Sunday.

"I wanted to say, my intensions (sic) for the piece I took off the tow truck were to make a memorial out of it. Paul was a childhood idol to me and many. At the time I was not thinking about the consequences it could have, I never wanted it to be like this I wasn't going to sell the piece to make a profit," the message read. "Nobody in this world is perfect, we all make mistakes. Some bigger than others. My deepest apologies go to Paul's family. And I'm going to say with confidence that I messed up big time, but continue on with life as should you all."

If convicted as charged, Witty and Janow face a maximum sentence of four years, six months in county jail.

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