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Thanks very much for the info, Scaredkat.

So the jeep did go somewhere. People used to speculate that Ricci had lent his jeep to someone that week. I didn't pay much attention at the time. It seemed to me that he had little enough as it was, so why would he be lending out his vehicle. BUT more recently, I realize that one of Ricci's priors gives a clue, maybe. He was convicted of receiving stolen food from that food bank in Sevier County. He had LENT HIS TRUCK to a person who proceeded to use it to burgle the food bank. Ricci was given some of the loot, presumably as payback for having lent the truck. That's what got him in trouble--having possession of stolen property from a burglary that was technically done by someone else.

So Ricci had lent his vehicle to a fellow criminal at least one time.

And then when I keep seeing mentions of methamphetamine labs, it begins to get me going again on my old idea that the "disappearance" of Ricci's jeep from Neth's, on May 30, maybe had something to do with illegal drug running or illegal drug sales or something, and maybe that's why he refused to explain about where the jeep was--b/c he'd have known that anyone who told police anything about a drug dealer's doings would be in very great danger of being killed. The posters on Capitol Grilling long ago speculated that maybe the jeep got mud on it b/c it was used by someone harvesting marijuana, but later they said that that didn't really fit b/c it wasn't harvest time for marijuana that time of year.

So the officer now thinks Ricci wasn't involved. Yeah, but if his jeep was involved b/c he lent it to someone, with friends like that, who needs enemies? (Or did someone associated with the auto place just borrow the thing w/o permission?)