FM police add to charges in vehicle thefts case

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BY CHUCK VANDENBERG

PCC EDITOR

FORT MADISON - An 18-year-old Fort Madison man is facing additional charges after being arrested Monday in Missouri after allegedly stealing at least four vehicles in the past week in Iowa and Missouri.

Christopher E. Guzman was apprehended by police in Palmyra, Mo., on Monday after allegedly stealing a Ford F150 from a camper sales lot in La Grange. Authorities also discovered a 2014 Jeep Compass near the sales lot that had been reported stolen from Donnellson, and have tied that theft to Guzman as well. Authorities found reportedly stolen items in the vehicles as well.

Lee County Sheriff's detectives then added burglary and unauthorized use of a vehicle to Guzman's charges on Wednesday. They also filed a warrant for extradition back to Lee County.

This morning, the Fort Madison Police Department added additional charges stemming from investigations and interviews after Guzman's arrest.

According to a release from Fort Madison Police Chief Tim Sittig, on Sunday a report was made to Fort Madison police regarding a stolen vehicle. Officers investigating this case had the vehicle entered into the national data base. The vehicle was a tan colored 2004 Ford Crown Victoria taken from the 1500 block of 38th St in Fort Madison.

In the early morning hours of Monday, June 18, that vehicle was recovered in the 600 block of 35th Street in Fort Madison. Shortly after this vehicle was recovered, a report of a stolen 2003 gray Dodge Ram was made. This vehicle had been in the 3400 block of Ave. E and was later recovered in rural Lee County where a third vehicle was reported stolen. That vehicle was the Jeep Compass that was reported stolen near Donnellson and was recovered in Lewis County, Mo., where Guzman had been apprehended.

"As a result of the active investigation in this case between the Fort Madison Police Department, Lee County Sherriff’s Office and Lewis County Mo. Sheriff’s Office, Fort Madison Police have sought arrest warrants for Guzman," Sittig wrote in the press release.

The warrants include: 2nd-degree theft, a Class D felony punishable of up to five years in prison for the theft of the Ford Crown Victoria; 1st-degree theft, a Class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison for the theft of the Dodge Ram pick-up; operating a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent - an aggravated misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison for operating the Ford Crown Victoria; and operating a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent - punishable by up to two years in prison for operating the Dodge Ram.

Lee County Attorney Ross Braden said Guzman will face charges in Iowa.

"He is in jail in Missouri and he'll have to come back to face his charges in Lee County once Missouri is done with him."

Guzman is currently being held in the Lewis County Jail. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

fort madison, iowa, lee county, Lewis County, Missouri, Pen City Current, police, sheriff, vehicle thefts

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