FDPD Releases Statement Regarding Multiple Vehicle Thefts Tuesday Night/Wednesday Morning

The Fort Dodge Police Dept. released a statement Wednesday Afternoon, concerning multiple vehicle theft incidents that took place Tuesday Night/Wednesday Morning. Below is the statement.

At approximately 9:00 P.M. on February 9, officers were dispatched to the 600 block of North
14th Street on a report of a vehicle theft. Information obtained indicated that a vehicle was left running
outside of a residence and during this time, the vehicle was taken from the area. The vehicle was
described as a white, Chevrolet Trailblazer. An attempt to locate was put out for the vehicle.
At approximately 10:20 P.M. on February 9, officers were dispatched to the 10 block of North
18th Street on a report of another vehicle theft. Similar to the first incident, the vehicle was left running
and unoccupied near a residence and was taken. The vehicle was described as a black, Pontiac Grand
Prix. An attempt to locate was again distributed out.
At approximately 10:25 P.M., an officer observed the white, Chevrolet Trailblazer reported as
stolen earlier, in the 300 block of Haskell Street. The officer attempted to initiate a traffic stop on the
vehicle which initially refused to stop. The vehicle pulled over a short time later in the 500 block of
North 3rd Street. As they came to a stop, three individuals fled from the vehicle. One of the individuals,
identified as the driver, was apprehended a short time later.
The driver was identified as a 14‐year‐old male. The juvenile make was taken into custody on the
following charges:
Operating Without Owner’s Consent (Aggravated Misdemeanor)
Eluding (Serious Misdemeanor) Possession of a Controlled Substance (Serious Misdemeanor)
The 14‐year‐old male was transported to the Central Iowa Juvenile Detention Center in
Eldora where he will await proceedings in the Juvenile Court System.

Public Information Officer: Captain Ryan Gruenberg ‐ [email protected]
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Fort Dodge Police Department.
Crime Stoppers can also be contacted anonymously by calling (515) 573‐1444 (STOP), online at
www.wccrimestoppers.com or by texting “LEC” and the tip to CRIMES (274637).
At approximately 4:30 A.M. on February 10, an officer observed an unoccupied vehicle in
the ditch near Nelson Avenue and 170th Street just north of Fort Dodge. Upon further
investigation, it was discovered the vehicle had been stolen overnight after it was left running
near a residence in the 900 block of South 21st Street in Fort Dodge. While it is unclear if this
vehicle is related to the two previous thefts, we feel it is a strong possibility. The black, Grand
Prix from the second incident was located this morning at approximately 7:40 A.M. in the 1700
block of 3rd Avenue North.
The Fort Dodge Police Department is continuing to investigate these incidents, to include
identifying the two other individuals that fled from the traffic stop. We would encourage
anyone with information to contact the police department. This is an unfortunate reminder to
ensure vehicles are secured appropriately during cold weather. We were fortunate that all
vehicles were recovered in a short time frame.