A Chariton man is facing multiple felony charges in two counties after a stolen truck was found in a ditch in Van Buren County Monday morning, leading to his arrest following a brief foot chase into the woods.
Matthew Smith, 31, of Chariton, faces charges of Theft in the First Degree, a Class C felony, and Driving While Barred, an aggravated misdemeanor, in Van Buren County. He also faces charges in Appanoose County including two counts of Theft in the First Degree, one of which is a Class C felony and the other a Class B felony for theft against an older individual involving $10,000 or more, as well as Burglary in the Third Degree, a Class D felony.
According to a press release from the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office, dispatchers received a report at approximately 11:00 a.m. on Monday, April 6th of a pickup truck in a ditch on Route J16 near Osage Avenue. The reporting party indicated a male subject was still present with the vehicle and acting suspiciously. When a deputy arrived, the subject had fled the scene on foot into a nearby wooded area.
Before Smith was taken into custody, the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office issued a public alert asking for the community’s help in locating him. The office posted on social media that they were searching for a thin male approximately six feet tall, wearing a dark blue jacket and black pants, who had left the scene of an accident on J16 between Birmingham and Stockport and was believed to be on foot in the area. Smith was located and taken into custody shortly after the alert was issued. The pickup was determined to have been stolen from a residence the previous day in Centerville.
Court documents from Appanoose County detail the events leading up to the Van Buren County arrest. On April 5th, Smith allegedly went to a residence in the 400 block of East Wall Street in Centerville and entered without authorization, stealing items valued at more than $10,000, including the pickup truck. Court documents note that Smith could have known the victim was 60 years of age or older based on retirement paperwork and state-issued identification cards that were also taken from the residence during the theft.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 23rd. He is required to appear at all hearings as a condition of his release.
