CG man charged with car theft

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A 26-year-old Cottage Grove man was arrested and charged earlier this month in Stillwater after he was pulled over in an SUV reported stolen from a Cottage Grove gas station.

Police allege Nicholas Charles Jennrich stole a gray Chevrolet Blazer from a SuperAmerica convenience store on East Point Douglas Road in Cottage Grove shortly before 5 p.m. on Dec. 4. The keys had been left in the vehicle’s ignition at one of the station’s gas pumps, according to the Washington County District Court Criminal Complaint.

Also according to the complaint: Stillwater Police stopped Jennrich for speeding at 12:02 a.m. on Dec. 5; when the officer ran the vehicle’s plates the in-squad computer indicated the gray Chevrolet Blazer was a stolen vehicle.

Jennrich was placed under arrest, then told police his friend Jacob had loaned him the car after a party earlier in the night. When asked, Jennrich stated he did not know the friend’s last name.

Police also questioned a woman who was a passenger in the vehicle. The Cottage Grove resident said she believed the Blazer was Jennrich’s, and that he had picked her up at her home to give her a ride to Rice Lake. The woman asked Jennrich about the pink, flowered car seat in the back seat of the SUV; Jennrich, who has a son, told her the seat had been a mistake.

Jennrich has been charged by the Washington County Attorney’s Office with motor vehicle theft. If convicted the 26-year-old faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Tags: cottage grove, suv, theft, crime