Man chases car thief

The Maupin man, who asked not to be named, said early on June 4 he saw a truck he didn’t recognize parked next to his own truck. It had Washington plates, its door handle was ripped off and the interior lights were on.

He then realized his own truck and his girlfriend’s car were also broken into, and items, including credit cards, were missing.

Later, he learned the strange truck on his property was stolen, and a man had left it there and gone down the street and broke into a few other cars, stealing one, driving that vehicle a few blocks, and then abandoning it, before returning to the stolen truck and taking off in it.

The Maupin man heard the stolen truck’s door close and ran out to his own truck to give chase as the vehicle backed out of the driveway. He called police with the license plate number of the truck.

“I pretty much just followed him ‘til (police) got there,” the man said. “We were going pretty fast, I’d prefer not to say the speed. I just definitely did not want to lose him.”

Later, the owner of the other vehicle that was stolen and then abandoned just a few blocks away came over to the Maupin man’s house and returned some credit cards of his that were found in the vehicle.

The Jefferson County Jail lists Stewart, 29, as being held on three warrants, a federal warrant for bank robbery, and charges of attempting to elude police and reckless driving.

Several guns were reported stolen in the incident. Wasco County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Scott Williams said the Wasco County case was under investigation.

The Maupin man who gave chase said he didn’t have a habit previously of locking his vehicles.

“I’m definitely gonna start locking my doors now,” he said.