Lincoln Police arrested a 19 year old in connection with a string of stolen trucks in southwest Lincoln Monday morning. It all began around 5:00 a.m. at a home west of Highway 77 and West Denton Road. Sergeant Chris Vollmer says a 45 year old man said he woke up hearing the sound of his 2006 Chevy Silverado starting up and leaving his driveway.
The victim hopped into another vehicle and followed the truck until losing sight of it near 32nd and Pine Lake Road. “Arriving officers showed up and saw the stolen Silverado driving off at a high-rate of speed behind another truck, a stolen 2016 Ford F150 that was taken last July from the 2500 block of Southview Circle,” Vollmer says.
Vollmer says the caller returned home and saw that his pickup had returned and was parked on the street. Another pickup, a 2017 GMC Sierra, was stopped in the street near the F150. Someone was spotted running from the truck toward homes and parked vehicles.
Officers arrived in the area and determined the Sierra had been stolen from the 6600 block of Verano Dr. “When the officer attempted to contact the truck, it accelerated forward but then slowed,” Vollmer says that’s when they say Jesse Mora-Tapia began running toward the truck from a nearby front yard and tried to jump in the bed.
He says the truck has a bed cover accessory and Mora-Tapia climbed onto it. When the truck accelerated he rolled off the cover and fell onto the street. Mora-Tapia was then taken into custody and he was found with keys to the stolen Silverado. Mora-Tapia was taken to jail and booked for theft by receiving, resisting arrest, obstructing a police officer and criminal trespass.
Vollmer says all three stolen vehicles were left unlocked with the keys inside.