Police: Woman lied about stolen car, tried to bite cop

Aug. 27--A Dallastown woman is accused of lying about her car being stolen, attempting to bite a police officer, and growing marijuana in her home, according to charging documents filed Thursday by York Area Regional Police.

Heidi Kathleen Zinn, 28, of 670 Trolley Drive, Apartment C, will be charged with false insurance claim, insurance fraud, false reports, unsworn falsification to authorities, attempt to tamper with evidence, obstructing administration of law, resisting arrest, conspiracy of possession with intent to deliver, possession with intent to deliver, and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to charging documents.

Her boyfriend who lives with her, Derek Scott Klepper, 28, will be charged with insurance fraud, conspiracy to tamper with evidence, conspiracy of possession with intent to deliver, possession with intent to deliver, as well as two misdemeanor drug charges, according to online court documents.

Stolen vehicle: The investigation started on April 19, when Zinn called police, reporting her blue 2000 GMC Jimmy was missing, documents state. Zinn told officers she had come home at about 11:40 p.m. that night and her car was not there, documents allege. She said no one was given permission to drive the car, and Klepper, who lives there, would not have been allowed to drive the car, police said.

On April 20, the car was found in York City on Lombardy Avenue near South Duke Street. The car had damage to the front driver side and a flat driver side tire. Inside the car was a key and two prescription bottles in Klepper's name, as well as pharmacy paperwork for one of the bottles, police said.

The officer then spoke with Allstate Insurance and confirmed that Zinn had claimed her GMC as stolen, according to documents.

Interview: Zinn met with the officer at York Area Regional Police Headquarters on April 21. While there, she denied letting Klepper drive the car, documents state. The officer told Zinn that the paperwork for one of the prescriptions showed it was filled at 7 p.m., about five hours before Zinn reported the car stolen, according to police. She did could not give a reason why the items were in the car, police said.

Zinn showed the officer a text message between herself and Klepper, showing a message from Klepper on April 19 at about 7:50 p.m., regarding a doctor's appointment, according to documents. Police say the officer asked to see more messages he saw on Zinn's phone but she refused to show them to the officer.

The officer told Zinn he believed the messages were about Klepper driving the car the night she reported it stolen, and said he was tempted to seize the cellphone. After that, Zinn left the building.

The officer found Zinn outside the building, rummaging through the interior of her car while she was on the phone, documents state. The officer told Zinn he was taking her phone, which she refused, according to police.

Alleged biting attempt: As the officer reached for the phone, Zinn threw it to the ground, and then grabbed it and tried to flee, documents state. The officer restrained her to stop her from throwing her phone, according to police. She was told multiple times to calm down before she would be arrested, but she continued resisting, police said.

"I did grasp the cellphone at one point and Zinn attempted to bite my hand," the officer wrote in charging documents.

The officer was eventually able to place Zinn under arrest, and she was placed in a holding cell, police said. He then seized her phone.

After she was placed in the holding cell, she told the officer that on the night of the crash, Klepper sent her a text saying he wrecked the car near East Jackson Street in York City, police said. She said Klepper convinced her to call and report the vehicle stolen, charging documents state.

Zinn said she had not given Klepper permission to drive the car and that he had taken a spare key, according to police. She also admitted to reporting to the insurance company that the car was stolen, documents state.

Zinn was then released from police custody.

Marijuana: On April 22, a detective at the York County District Attorney's Office informed the officer of a potential marijuana grow operation at Zinn's home, according to police. The detective was given the phone with a search warrant, and found multiple photos and text messages regarding marijuana growing and selling, documents state.

While the detective searched the phone, he found more text messages between Zinn and Klepper about the car the day it was stolen, police said.

That afternoon, York Area Regional Police and the York County Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at Klepper and Zinn's home, where they found at least eight suspected marijuana plants, a grow light, and marijuana seeds, according to charging documents.

Police say the two admitted to growing the marijuana plants in their basement, and Zinn said Klepper uses money from selling them to pay the rent and bills.

As of Friday, Zinn and Klepper have not been arraigned on the charges, online court records indicate.

-- Reach Christopher Dornblaser at cdornblaser@yorkdispatch.com or on Twitter at@YDDornblaser.

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