Alleged thief, drunken driver denies charges
Published 10:51 am Friday, September 28, 2012
An Austin man denied charges Thursday in Mower County court that he stole items from an apartment after driving there drunk.
Justin Jereme Jolly, 22, pleaded not guilty to gross misdemeanor theft, two misdemeanor charges for DWI and a misdemeanor charge for fleeing an officer.
Police went to apartments at the 200 block of 31st Street SW in Austin on Sept. 16 after they received a call at about 4 a.m. that a burglary could be in progress. The caller said he or she saw a person going back and forth from the apartment to a vehicle and heard glass breaking.
When police arrived, the witness saw a Chevy Suburban with many items outside and inside. A man lying on the ground behind the vehicle got up and ran into the apartments, according to the report.
Another person left the building shortly after and told police that someone ran into his bedroom. Police went inside and arrested Jolly. According to the court complaint, Jolly admitted he was drunk but denied stealing anything.
Jolly has a pretrial Jan. 18.