Rigby man arrested after stealing 2 cars, running from police

Idaho Falls Police report 34-year-old Oliver D. Jones of Rigby allegedly stole two vehicles, attempted to steal a third and attempted to elude officers in a vehicle and fled on foot before being apprehended on Saturday.

Around 12:20 p.m., Idaho Falls Public Safety Dispatch notified law enforcement units of a black Dodge Ram truck which had been stolen from Jefferson County.

An Idaho Falls Police officer located a black Dodge Ram with 1J plates near the intersection of 17th Street and Yellowstone Highway.

The driver of the truck was speeding, and when police attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver sped away and attempted to elude police.

Officers located the truck a short time later in a church parking lot on Memorial Drive.

Surveillance footage from the church showed a man in a blue shirt exit the vehicle and leave a bag behind a rock.

Police retrieved the bag around 3:50 p.m. and found court documentation and other evidence indicating that the bag belonged to Jones.

At 4:45 p.m., police responded to another vehicle theft at a retail store on the 900 block of East 17th Street.

The driver of a 1997 Toyota pickup reported he left the keys in the truck while he went inside the store for approximately 15 minutes, and when he came out, the truck was gone.

A witness saw a man in a blue shirt drive off in the truck. The witness saw the man, later identified as Jones, drive a short distance, stop behind a red 2011 Buick sedan, exit the truck and get into the red car.

Jones then got out of the red car and took off running toward Lowe’s home improvement store on 17th Street.

The witness notified police, who quickly located the suspect in the Lowe’s parking lot.

When police yelled at Jones to stop running, he ran faster. Police chased the suspect on foot, escorted him to the ground and placed him under arrest.

Jones was arrested on four charges including grand theft, unlawful entry, resisting and obstructing officers and a felony charge of fleeing or attempting to elude an officer.

He was booked into Bonneville County Jail.