PLAINFIELD — A 31-year-old Lebanon man was the mastermind and main culprit behind a scheme to steal a luxury car out of a barn in Plainfield last spring, but he attempted to blame his alleged partner-in-crime for the theft as authorities closed in on him.

Thomas Hamel was indicted by a Sullivan County Grand Jury on Monday after being charged with theft and arson in August in connection with a 2021 convertible Audi that was stolen in the early morning hours from a historic barn on Route 120. A few minutes after the car disappeared, the barn went up in flames and nearly ignited the nearby house where the owner was inside, according to court documents.

Also implicated in the Audi theft is Jesse LaFlam Jr., who police say drove Hamel to the barn and acted as a “lookout” while Hamel entered the barn and stole the vehicle.

Later when confronted by authorities, Hamel subsequently tried to pin the crime on LaFlam, police said.

Authorities said that in text messages prior to the caper, Hamel assured LaFlam that he would “keep it 100” with him. “Keep it 100” is slang term for being true to your word.

Hamel initially was charged with falsifying physical evidence after police allegedly located the stolen Audi under a tarp behind a shed at his residence in Lebanon in April. He was charged additionally with arson and theft in August, court documents show.

Hamel has been held in preventive detention at Sullivan County House of Corrections in Unity since August, while LaFlam, who has been charged with theft and arson, was released on $1,000 bail.

The police affidavit filed in support of the charge against LaFlam provides new information about the April 2 barn fire, which drew a response from four fire departments. Total property losses were valued at $463,000.

According to an affidavit in the case, Hamel messaged LaFlam Jr. on March 30: “Can you give me a ride somewhere and pick me up when I need to go? … You know where we saw that Audi I’ll keep it 100 with you bro. Don’t let me regret it but I want to go hit that Audi.”

Later that same day, Hamel — who has prior criminal convictions for burglary, simple assault, reckless conduct and parole/probation violations — had a friend drive him past the barn on Route 120 where he video recorded the premises, according to police, who interviewed the person who said they drove Hamel.

Other text message exchanges in the early morning hours of April 2 between Hamel and LaFlam show them communicating about the stolen vehicle before and after the theft. For instance, at 3:24 a.m. — nearly the same moment when a security camera from a neighboring residence captured a fire and explosion at the barn — Hamel instructs LaFlam to rendezvous back at Hamel’s residence.

“Yo get out of there … go to my house, buddy” Hamel messaged.

“I’m coming,” LaFlam replied.

Police also said that a geo-location analysis of Hamel’s phone showed it traveling a route from Lebanon to within a 100 yards of the barn in Plainfield and back again within the same window of time in which the theft and fire occurred.

On the morning of April 4, working on a tip about the location of a stolen vehicle, police went to Hamel’s Lebanon residence on Bank Street Extension, according to court records. Hamel at first denied police permission to check out the vehicle in the back under a tarp. As one officer went back to the police station to write up a warrant application, another stayed back at Hamel’s residence.

(The falsifying evidence charge relates to Hamel allegedly attempting to smash his phone after police told him that they were seizing it as part of their investigation.)

While waiting for police to return with the warrant, Hamel “flagged the officer back over (and) confirmed it was the stolen vehicle and he said Jesse LaFlam said it was hot and LaFlam drove it there,” the affidavit said.

But according to the Sullivan County grand jury indictment against Hamel handed up Monday, it was Hamel who entered the barn, stole the Audi and who drove it to his residence.

A few minutes before Hamel had confessed to the Lebanon police officer who was waiting for his colleague to return with the search warrant, security cameras inside his own residence recorded Hamel having an epiphany of self-reckoning, and police later reviewed the footage.

According to the affidavit, the camera captured Hamel “pacing around his living space. He then (h)as a moment when he breaks down and starts crying and says that he is in so much trouble. He goes to the door and tells (the Lebanon officer) that the car is hot and puts the blame on Jesse LaFlam.”

It remains unclear how the barn fire started. There is no mention in the affidavit that it was intentionally set by the defendants. The police investigation found that two of the three vehicles stored in the barn, including the Audi, were connected to power sources that provided trickle charges to the batteries. Both of the other vehicles — a Porsche Boxster and a Mercedes Sprinter van — were destroyed in the blaze.

Contact John Lippman at jlippman@vnews.com.

CLARIFICATION: This story has been updated to identify the charges against LaFlam.