KC thieves as young as 15 steal cars and lead crash-filled interstate chase, cops say

The theft of several stolen cars from a car dealership in Sioux Falls, S.D., over the weekend played out like scenes from “Grand Theft Auto” and ended with the arrests of several people from Kansas City.

In all, authorities say nearly a dozen suspects were involved in a heist on an otherwise quiet Sunday morning that had cops from several agencies chasing stolen cars through Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri, hunting for fleeing suspects and tending to several crashes around Interstate 29, KSFY in Sioux Falls reported.

Some of the suspected car thieves — arrested in Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri — were barely old enough to drive.

“We’re getting reports from other law enforcement in different states like Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, that some of those stolen cars were involved in different pursuits,” Officer Sam Clemens with the Sioux Falls Police Department told KSFY.

“We’re still working on trying to figure out how many and how many people were involved.”

The mayhem began Sunday morning when cars were reported stolen from Billion Auto Chrysler Jeep Dodge RAM dealership in Sioux Falls, according to the Fremont County (Iowa) Sheriff’s Office.

Police found signs of forced entry and saw that car keys were missing.

“It sounds like these people were from out of the area. Out of the region and they came here. Stole these cars and then left. There’s still a lot of questions that we just don’t have answers to at this point,” Clemens told KSFY.

Fremont County deputies received a call about several Dodge Chargers and Chevrolet Camaros driving at high rates of speed southbound on Interstate-29, headed in the direction of Kansas City.

Described by The Valley News in Shenandoah, Iowa, deputies made contact with three Dodge Chargers stopped at the southbound off-ramp of I-29 at Exit 20, but the cars sped off in different directions.

Deputies began pursuing a blue 2017 Dodge Charger heading southbound on I-29. The car crashed at the intersection of I-29 and Highway 2 but continued west on the highway, at times going as fast as 127 miles an hour, authorities said.

The car crossed into Otoe County, Nebraska, then headed north on Highway 75.

Deputies lost track of the car near Murray, Neb., but then got a call about a car crashed at a house south of Murray Road on Highway 75.

A Fremont County K-9 unit at the scene helped track down 18-year-old Antonio Dewayne Massey Jr. of Kansas City, Kan., local media reported.

He was taken to University of Nebraska Medical Center with minor injuries. He was arrested by the Omaha Police Department, accused of first-degree theft and other pending charges.

“And later I find out the driver of that vehicle didn’t have very much driving experience. And not at speeds like that,” Fremont County Deputy Andrew Wake told KETV in Omaha.

Some of the law enforcement agencies involved in the pursuits posted lengthy descriptions to their Facebook pages, giving evidence to the scope of the chases.

In another chase, deputies caught up with an orange 2018 Dodge Charger Daytona in Hamburg, Iowa. They chased the car into Missouri, then back into Iowa, where deputies and Iowa state troopers caught up with the car after it crashed.

The car, valued at more than $41,000, was totaled.

Authorities arrested two juveniles from Kansas City, Kan., on charges of first-degree theft and felony eluding. A 15-year-old was reportedly released without charges. Two of the juveniles were treated and released at local hospitals for minor injuries.

In a third chase, Iowa state troopers pursued two cars toward Missouri on I-29. The cars crossed into Buchanan County, Mo., where the pursuit ended with a crash involving other cars.

According to details provided by the News-Press in St. Joseph, Travon Simmons, 17, of Kansas City, was driving a Dodge Charger at speeds up to 115 miles per hour on southbound I-29.

When he tried to exit at Frederick Boulevard he crashed into two other cars, injuring five people. He fled on foot, the News-Press reported, but law enforcement officers caught him near the Cracker Barrel.

Simmons reportedly confessed that he and others had planned the heist in South Dakota. He was charged Monday with felony first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle, fleeing the scene of an accident and resisting arrest by fleeing, according to Missouri Highway Patrol records.

He allegedly tagged Talicia Williams, 24, of Kansas City, as an accomplice. A Missouri trooper stopped her near mile marker 41 along I-29, the News-Press reported.

She was driving a Dodge Durango with South Dakota license plates, one of the cars reported stolen from the Sioux Falls dealership. She reportedly told troopers Simmons drove the vehicle off the lot.

On Monday, the Buchanan County Prosecutor’s Office charged Williams with first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle.

About 10:30 a.m. Sunday, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Department in Iowa alerted the Atchison County Sheriff’s Department in Rock Port, Mo., about a chase in their neck of the woods.

An Atchison County deputy spotted a 2014 Chevrolet Camaro and a 2018 Dodge Charger zooming down I-29 going as fast as 100 miles an hour,.

The cars pulled off into the Trails End Truck Stop parking lot, the News-Press reported, and the Camaro rammed the side of a deputy’s patrol vehicle.

The cars whipped back onto the interstate with the deputy in hot pursuit. Farther down the road the driver of the damaged Camaro abandoned the car and hopped into the Charger.

The Charger crashed and two men were seen running away.

Somehow, they doubled back and stole a Missouri Highway Patrol trooper’s car and sped off south on I-29 until they ran out of gas, local media reported.

Travon Dixon, 18, of Kansas City, and Anthony Berry, 20, of Kansas City, face numerous charges, including tampering with a motor vehicle, resisting arrest by fleeing, passing on the shoulder, operating a motor vehicle without a valid license, and speeding.

“We are currently doing inventory to confirm the number of vehicles stolen. We believe five vehicles have been recovered at this point, and we have total faith in all of the departments involved to get to the bottom of this,” the car dealership’s general manager, Duane Mellema, told KSFY.

“There is some car theft from the dealerships, but it doesn’t happen that (often). It’s pretty rare.”

This story was originally published October 31, 2017 at 2:11 PM with the headline "KC thieves as young as 15 steal cars and lead crash-filled interstate chase, cops say."