A Des Moines couple was arrested for grand theft auto in Waukee Thursday morning after allegedly eluding law enforcement in a stolen pickup, ditching the vehicle and fleeing on foot to a farmstead on N.W. 10th Street, where they were eventually found with the help of a police dog.
Daniel Wesley Davis Jr., 55, of 7500 Bloomfield Road, #36, Des Moines, was arrested on a Dallas County warrant for second-degree theft and third-degree burglary, on a Polk County warrant for attempted third-degree burglary, fourth-degree criminal mischief, possession of burglars tools and driving while barred and was charged with two counts of first-degree theft, driving while barred, eluding and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Megan Marie Phillips, 38, of 7085 Bloomfield Road, #7, Des Moines, was charged with first-degree theft and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The incident began about 9:45 a.m. Thursday, when an officer with the Waukee Police Department responded to a report of a stolen 2021 Chevrolet Colorado in the 400 block of Pine Bluff Drive in southern Waukee.
The officer spotted the stolen white pickup truck traveling northbound on Ute Avenue (Sixth Street) near S.E. Westown Parkway (312th Place). The officer activated the patrol vehicle’s overhead emergency lights and caught up with the truck on Ute Avenue near Spyglass Lane, where “the vehicle began to pull over but then took off and proceeded northbound on Sixth Street,” according to court records.
The officer terminated the pursuit for the sake of public safety when the truck was approaching the Triangle Park area of old Waukee, with the officer was pursuing at 78 mph in a 35-mph zone, and “the vehicle was still pulling away from his patrol vehicle,” according to court records.
The truck, reported stolen out of Knoxville, was later found parked near the intersection of N.W. Sunrise Drive and Victoria Drive, in the Stratford Crossing construction zone on the west side of N.W. 10th Street (County Road R22).
According to court records, witnesses in the vicinity described seeing two individuals, later identified as Davis and Phillips, running northward through woods. Waukee Police Department officers, with assistance from the Dallas County Sheriff’s office and a West Des Moines Police Department K-9 unit, found Davis and Phillips “in a corn field north of the vehicle’s location,” and they were taken into custody about 11 a.m.
Davis is held in the Dallas County Jail on a $24,000 cash or surety bond. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Oct. 16 in Dallas County District Court.
Phillips is held in the Dallas County Jail on a $10,000 cash or surety bond. She is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Oct. 16 in Dallas County District Court.
A Dallas County warrant for Davis’ arrest was ordered Sept. 25 in connection with a Nov. 3, 2019, incident in which Davis allegedly broke into a West Des Moines garage and “removed approximately $10,000 worth of tools and a Lincoln Welder from Hallett Materials,” transporting the goods in “a stolen Jeep from Stew Hansen’s Dodge, which had GPS,” according to court records. The Jeep, with the Lincoln Welder in the rear, was later found parked outside Davis’ residence.
A Polk County warrant for Davis’ was ordered Sept. 28 in connection with an Oct. 7, 2019, incident in which Davis allegedly “cut a chain link fence of Storage Mart” in Ankeny, where Davis was allegedly “observed arriving/leaving in a confirmed stolen vehicle” that contained “various tools (saws, drills, pry bars, screw drivers) that were used to commit burglaries,” according to court records. DNA obtained from the vehicle returned to Davis, according to court records.
Davis was convicted of fifth-degree theft in 1998 in Franklin County District Court. He was convicted of fifth-degree theft in 2014 in Polk County District Court. He was convicted of eluding in 2016 in Dallas County District Court. He was convicted of first-degree theft in 2016 in Polk County District Court. He was convicted of first-degree theft in 2016 in Warren County District Court. He was convicted of second-degree theft in 2016 in Dallas County District Court, and he was convicted of fifth-degree theft in 2018 in Polk County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is innocent until and unless proven guilty.
