A Fort Thompson man was arrested after allegedly stealing a vehicle and crashing it into a tree.
On Jan. 5, Mitchell police received a report of a stolen vehicle, and shortly after were dispatched to a vehicle that had crashed into a tree in a residential yard, according to court documents.
The reporting party said a male had walked away from the crash, and police located the man, identified as 36-year-old Conrad Fleury, approximately four blocks from the crash site.
Fleury allegedly told police that he saw the keys in the vehicle's ignition and decided to take it, according to court documents. He then admitted to looking down at his phone when he lost control of the vehicle, causing the crash. Fleury failed field sobriety tests, and recorded a blood alcohol content of 0.148.
He is charged with grand theft, a Class 5 felony, punishable upon conviction by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Fleury is also charged with first-offense driving under the influence, careless driving, causing a crash that caused property damage and driving without a driver's license.
