A Colorado man is in custody after he allegedly stole a car in North Platte, then crashed it into the river and set it on fire.
At around 11:25 a.m., on January 2, a North Platte police officer was on patrol when he observed a Sport Utility Vehicle on fire and partially submerged in the South Platte River, just south of Harvest Christian Fellowship Church, 1501 South Dewey Street.
The officer investigated further and was contacted by a witness who stated that a male subject had run eastbound from the vehicle.
According to Investigator John Deal, the witness was able to give a description of the suspect and a trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol made contact with the man, later identified as 30-year-old Daniel Founds.
Deal says Founds was uncooperative and did not comply with verbal commands given by the officers. Founds reportedly became combative and Deal says it took several officers to detain him.
The officers noticed that Founds clothes smelled of gasoline, and found his pants and feet were soaked. He also appeared to be intoxicated.
Officers learned that the 1986 Chevy Blazer, which had by now been extinguished by the North Platte Fire Department, had been stolen earlier in the day from a residence in the 600 block of South Silber Street.
Officers turned their focus to the vehicle and determined that the fire had been intentionally set in the passenger compartment of the Blazer, which explained why Founds smelled like gasoline.
Deal said that Founds had been staying with family members in town. Police contacted the family members and they were able to identify a key found near the vehicle as theirs. They also showed officers a car speaker that Founds had brought to their home at an earlier date. Deal says that was stolen from a vehicle in the 800 block of South Taft Street, on December 29.
Founds was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center and charged with theft by unlawful taking, resisting arrest, obstructing justice, arson, driving under the influence of liquor and refusal to submit to a chemical/breath test.
The Blazer was deemed a total loss.