Second man in November car theft gets probation

Published 10:25 am Friday, April 13, 2012

An Austin man who participated in a vehicle theft with another man in November was sentenced Thursday in Mower County Court.

Nethaniel Harris Tusen, 19, was convicted of one count of felony vehicle theft. He is sentenced to five years’ supervised probation and must complete 80 hours of sentence to serve.

Police responded to a report of a stolen Dodge Durango at the 1300 block of Second Avenue SW on the morning of Nov. 21. The officer later found the vehicle parked at the 300 block of 12th Street SE and returned it to the owner at about 4 p.m. the same day.

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Police then responded to a reported stolen Lincoln sedan at about 10:40 p.m. the next day at the 200 block of First Avenue SW. The owner said the vehicle was left running outside, but upon returning, it was gone.

According to Austin Police Capt. Dave McKichan, officers found the vehicle roughly 45 minutes later at the 300 block of 27th Street SW, where they questioned Harris and another man. Upon questioning, police found the keys to the Lincoln underneath a car. They also searched a nearby dumpster and discovered two purses, along with the keys to the Durango that was stolen the previous day.

The other suspect, Dylan Leeper, was sentenced to jail time and five years’ supervised probation for his involvement. Leeper was also sentenced for another vehicle theft on Dec. 29, in which he had to also pay $3,000 in restitution.