Late Night Theft at St. Augusta Construction Site Leads to Arrest

ST. AUGUSTA (WJON News) -- A Melrose man faces felony theft charges for allegedly stealing tools from a construction site early Saturday.

The Stearns County Sheriff's Office received a call from the owner of the equipment just before 2:00 a.m. The caller told dispatch that his surveillance cameras had alerted him where he then spotted a truck and a man at the site along County Road 136 in St. Augusta.

Deputies arrived to see the truck with its license plates covered and an enclosed trailer with its side door open. The sheriff's office says a man then appeared from behind the trailer, and when they made contact with the man, he fled on foot.

One of the deputies chased the man through a field and into the woods, where he was caught and arrested.

The sheriff's office says deputies immediately recognized the man as 36-year-old Jimmy Ray Ansiel.

Authorities say Ansiel allegedly broke into the trailer and loaded nearly $3,700 worth of tools and equipment into his truck. He was booked into the Stearns County Jail on a handful of charges.