De Soto Police say a yellow 1995 Ford Mustang that reportedly had been stolen Feb. 20 really was taken during a private repossession.
However, the 18-year-old De Soto teen who repossessed the vehicle faces a charge over the way he handled the repossession, Detective Rick Draper said.
“It was a repossession with an assault,” Draper said today (Feb. 25).
The teen, who has not yet been charged in the case, is in the Jefferson County Jail on an unrelated arrest, Draper said.
Draper said he did not know how or when the suspect was arrested by another law enforcement agency.
De Soto Police had sought the suspect who allegedly took the Mustang by threatening to use Mace on a passenger in the vehicle the night of Feb. 20 at the parking lot of the Hardee’s restaurant, 12974 Hwy. 21, De Soto.
“The suspect entered the vehicle and ordered a passenger out,” Draper said. “The witness said he displayed Mace. The driver was not in the car and the keys had been left in. The 16-year-old male passenger was ordered out.”
Draper said De Soto officers became involved in the case Monday (Feb. 23), when the Missouri State Highway Patrol contacted them about the vehicle’s involvement in a hit-and-run accident and its owner was traced to a home in De Soto.
Residents of the home indicated the car had been stolen, officers reported.
Draper said he did not have any details about the hit-and-run accident, which is being investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Draper said his department will seek a misdemeanor assault charge against the suspect.