Man charged with theft after allegedly taking car from Charles City gas station

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com 

A Minnesota man was charged with second-degree theft Friday after allegedly stealing at car from a Kwik Star in Charles City then leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase over the Avenue of the Saints that ended south of Waverly.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Floyd County District Court, Shawndell Phillip Smith, age 22, took a 2010 Chevrolet Traverse SUV from the Kwik Star on South Grand Avenue Friday before noon. The owner of the car had left the keys in, the report said.

According to an item posted on the Charles City Police Department’s Facebook page, the vehicle was spotted by a Floyd County sheriff’s deputy south of Charles City on Highway 218. The driver did not pull over and a high-speed chase began.

Authorities used tire deflation devices to stop the vehicle, and Smith was arrested and taken into custody south of Janesville.

Smith’s address was originally listed in court documents as Goodman, Mississippi, but is later listed as Saint Paul, Minnesota.

The value of the allegedly stole vehicle is listed as $9,300, and Smith is being charged with second degree theft, a Class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison and up to a $7,500 fine.

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 26. Smith is being held at the Floyd County Jail under $5,000 cash bond.