Man suspected in thefts in Waseca, Le Sueur counties
May 14—A man is charged in alleged vehicle thefts near Waseca and Montgomery, and authorities are investigating if he was involved in additional thefts in Le Sueur County.
Alex Richard Vanerp, 27 of Faribault, allegedly was found passed out behind the wheel of a stolen pickup he drove into a ditch at 260th Avenue and 110th Street near Waseca on April 24.
Firefighters and a sheriff's deputy responded to a pickup still in gear with rear wheels that had been spinning so long that smoking rubber had started a grass fire, according to a court complaint.
Vanerp could barely open his eyes, did not know where he was and said he was driving his van from Faribault to Dundas.
He was taken to the Mayo Clinic Health System hospital in Waseca. A deputy planned to arrest Vanerp after he was treated, but Vanerp left the hospital and got away.
Meanwhile the owner of the pickup reported it was stolen from a shed a few miles away while the keys were left in the ignition.
Vanerp was charged with felony counts of burglary and theft last week in Waseca County District Court.
On May 1 Vanerp allegedly stole a pickup and trailer from a rural Montgomery residential property and apparently left behind a pickup and trailer that had been stolen from outside a rural Elysian residence.
A woman on Highway 99 said she saw a man, whom she later identified as Vanerp from a photo lineup, steal her husband's Chevy pickup along with an attached trailer for a skid loader.
A Ford pickup with enclosed trailer was then discovered next to an outbuilding. A skid loader had been taken from another outbuilding and appeared to have been used to begin unloading items from the trailer of the Ford.
The Ford and trailer for a blacktopping business had been reported stolen a few minutes earlier from a rural Elysian residential property.
The rural Montgomery residents later realized two chainsaws also were missing from an outbuilding.
The Chevy taken from Montgomery was later found at Shady Shores Campground in Elysian. Parts of it had been spray-painted a different color, causing about $6,000 in damage.
Vanerp was charged with felony counts of burglary, theft and criminal damage to property Thursday in Le Sueur County District Court in connection to the Montgomery case.
Authorities are investigating the Elysian case as well as other thefts May 1 in southern Le Sueur County. They believe he might also be involved in thefts in Cleveland and Le Center, according to a news release from Le Sueur County Sheriff Brett Mason.
Vanerp is currently in an Iowa jail after he allegedly was caught with drugs and property that had been stolen from Wisconsin. Warrants have been issued for his arrest on the charges in Waseca and Le Sueur counties.
