Posted: 8/30/06
Two men charged with car thefts
Two men have been charged with car thefts that occurred on August 15 in Caledonia and Spring Grove.
Keith Allen Schroeder, 23, Caledonia, and Stanley George Colsch, 25, no known address, each face three felony counts of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
According to the complaints signed on August 23:
Colsch and Schroeder first stole a 1987 GMC truck from an Ellingson Motors lot in Caledonia at about 1:30 a.m. that Tuesday morning.
They drove it to Spring Grove, where they tried unsuccessfully to load a motorcycle onto the truck, damaging the cycle.
They then drove into Iowa and back to Minnesota, but ran out of gas south of Spring Grove on County Road 16. They hitched a ride into Spring Grove, where they visited a friend of Schroederís. She refused to give them a ride to Caledonia. They then stole a 1991 Pontiac and drove it into Caledonia.
Police were tipped about the identity of Schroeder by the man who gave him and Colsch a ride into Spring Grove after they ran out of gas.
Schroeder was arrested in Caledonia. Colsch fled to Iowa, and was caught breaking into a business in Elkader. He was arrested there for attempted burglary. He also had two felony warrants in Clayton County, Iowa. He is being held in jail there on $10,000 bail.
Colsch has convictions in Iowa of operating a motor vehicle without consent (multiple), possession of a controlled substance, fleeing the state to avoid prosecution, felony assault, criminal mischief, and felony in possession of a firearm.
Schroeder made his first court appearance on August 25. He requested a public defender. Bail was set at $20,000 unconditional or $10,000 conditional. His next court date is September 11 at 10:00 a.m.
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com