North Platte police continue to search for a man who is accused of stealing vehicles in North Platte and Cozad. The Department issued the following news release on January 10:
On 1-7-19 at 1111 am, an officer spoke with a victim who advised that their wallet was stolen from their vehicle in the 2100 block of West 2nd St the night before. The victim said that their credit cards have been used almost a dozen times in various locations across North Platte throughout the night before. Surveillance footage from those businesses was retrieved and 30-year-old Kim Potter was identified as the suspect.
On 1-8-19 at 743 AM, an officer responded to the 800 block of East E St in regards to a stolen vehicle. The victim reported that their silver Mitsubishi Diamante with the license plate 15BT89 was stolen sometime during the night before. Approximately two hours later, that officer observed the stolen vehicle driving around in the area of 9th and Oak St. The officer observed the vehicle abruptly pull over before a traffic stop could be initiated and the driver, later identified as Kim Potter, fled on foot. The officer lost the driver during the foot pursuit, and the driver made it back to the car and left the area. Meanwhile, the officer located another male subject, 23-year-old Dennis Teall Jr, and soon found that he had been in the car as well, hiding. Teall apparently got out of the car and tried to leave the area on foot when the officer stopped him. During a search of his person and belongings, drug paraphernalia that field tested positive for methamphetamine was located. Teall was cited for possession of stolen property and released. Charges are pending after the NSP laboratory tests the paraphernalia for drug confirmation. The stolen vehicle was later located parked behind a residence in the 600 block of East 12th St and was released back to the owner.
On 1-9-19 at 822 AM, an officer responded to the report of a vehicle stolen the night before from the area of 10th and Willow. The vehicle was a green Chevrolet S10 with the license plate 15944D. It was suspected that Potter had stolen this vehicle as well.
On 1-10-19 at 1215AM, officers with the Cozad Police Department located the pickup in Cozad and arrested the driver, 22-year-old Russell Brown. It was found that the vehicle had been delivered to Cozad by Potter. Shortly after the pickup was recovered, a tan Buick LeSabre with the license plate 18G565 was reported as stolen from Cozad.
Currently, the Buick LeSabre is the only vehicle outstanding. Kim Potter goes by several aliases including Mike Potter, Kim Hatch, Mike Hatch, and most recently Mike Wazowski. It is unknown if he came back to North Platte, stayed in Cozad or where he went. The Nebraska State Patrol and other area agencies have been notified. The NPPD wants to arrest Potter for several theft charges stemming from the vehicle thefts, the credit card usage and thefts, and charges in regards to the foot pursuit and evading our officers.