A white Chevy Silverado with a “TNT Construction” sticker was found stopped in the roadway in Bovey early Wednesday, with a man inside who appeared unfamiliar with the vehicle and told deputies he was high on LSD, according to the complaint.
John Donald Childs, 62, is charged in Itasca County District Court with theft of a motor vehicle, driving after cancellation for public safety reasons and fourth-degree DWI. The charges were filed October 30.
The complaint says a reporting party called authorities at about 5:51 a.m. on October 28 after seeing the truck stopped in the road and a man with long hair and stockings on his feet who did not seem to know how to operate it. When a deputy arrived, he found the vehicle had no license plates and saw Childs sitting in the passenger seat. The deputy recognized Childs and knew his license was cancelled for public safety reasons.
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According to the complaint, Childs told the deputy he had been picked up by someone driving the truck but did not know who the driver was or when he got in. Childs admitted he was “trippin’” and high on LSD. The deputy noted Childs was not wearing shoes despite the wet and cold conditions and that his appearance matched the description given by the reporting party.
A second deputy spoke with the reporting party, who said that when she first approached the vehicle, Childs was in the driver’s seat. She tried to help him get gas, but Childs struggled to open the gas cap until he eventually managed it with a key. After she put some gas in, Childs tried to start the truck but could not because the battery was dead.
The complaint states the truck was registered to TNT Construction in Grand Rapids and valued at about $25,000. The owner confirmed the vehicle had been taken from the business sometime during the night or early morning and signed a theft report. Security footage from TNT Construction showed Childs entering the parking lot shortly after the gate opened at about 4:15 a.m., getting into the driver’s seat of the truck and driving away before the owner arrived.
Deputies later found the keys to the truck in the passenger area where Childs had been sitting. The reporting party also identified Childs from a photo as the man she saw in the driver’s seat.
While deputies applied for a search warrant for a blood or urine sample, Childs began to dry heave in the back of the squad car, according to the complaint.
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