BPD: Trail of damage leads to man’s arrest

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BROOKINGS – A Brookings man was arrested after officers followed a trail of damaged vehicles and a report of a suspicious person to piece together what happened, according to the Brookings Police.

It started with a report of a parking complaint at 9:08 p.m. Thursday in the 1100 block of First Street, Lt. Marci Gebers said.

Officers found a white 2003 Cadillac Deville, which had heavy front-end damage on the passenger side, including blue paint transfer, Gebers said.

Approximately nine minutes later, officers were dispatched to a hit-and-run accident in the 1000 block of Second Street, she said.

“Just one block to the northwest of that initial parking complaint,” Gebers said.

A blue 2010 Chevy Impala had sustained damage to the back driver’s side.

“And there was heavy white paint transfer on that vehicle,” Gebers said.

“Damage on the Cadillac was consistent with the damage on the second call,” Gebers said. Through the investigation, it became clear which vehicle had struck the other. “It was reported that the vehicle that was in the 1000 block of Second Street was parked at the time.”

At 9:32 p.m., “dispatch received a call about a suspicious person in the 100 block of 12th Avenue South, so that would be just one block southeast of the parking complaint,” Gebers said.

The caller provided a good description of the individual and what he was wearing. 

“The caller reported seeing the individual enter one of the apartment buildings in that area, so officers began going through the apartment buildings one by one … One of our officers located a male matching the description provided,” Gebers said.

“He was found to be passed out on the floor next to a washing machine. And he was ultimately determined to be the driver of that white Cadillac. He was found to be under the influence,” Gebers said.

The 36-year-old was arrested for DUI, leaving an accident scene, and failure to report an accident. He was transported to the Brookings County Detention Center, she said.

The Chevy sustained $1,500 worth of damage, Gebers said. She said that vehicle wasn’t towed, but the Cadillac, which sustained $3,000 worth of damage, was disabled and had to be towed.