Mountain View, MO. – A man was recently arrested after he stole a vehicle and then told the police he swapped the vehicle for his bicycle, so it wasn’t stealing. Dakota Farrell of Mountain View is currently facing charges for stealing a motor vehicle, watercraft, or aircraft and for being a prior stealing offender.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the Mountain View Police Department received a call from a place of business that a vehicle had been stolen. Upon arrival, officers talked to the victim who stated that she had pulled into the parking lot to clock out and left her car running while she ran inside. When she came out her vehicle was missing. A witness stated that a man wearing a white shirt and covered in tattoos had taken it and sped away.
The manager of the business allowed access to the security footage and officers were able to determine the identification of the man to be Dakota Farrell, who had a prior charge for stealing a motor vehicle in Howell County. When asked, the victim stated that she had never seen Farrell before in her life. After some searching and investigating, Farrell was arrested by Howell County Sheriff’s Department deputies while he was at a Casey’s General Store in Willow Springs in the stolen vehicle.
During an interview, when asked why he stole the vehicle, he stated that he was tired of walking so he asked permission and took the vehicle. He stated that he knew the owner and was related to them. This statement was contradicted by the owner of the vehicle, who stated, once again, that she had never met Dakota Farrell before. Later in another interview with Farrell, he changed his story and said he left his bicycle at the business and looked at taking the vehicle as a “swap without permission’.
Dakota is now being held at the Howell County Jail on a bond of $25,000.
