KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Police on both sides of the state line are searching for a suspect who stole some lawn equipment Tuesday and then led officers on a scary chase. The high-speed pursuit turned into a search on foot near 96th and State Line Road.
A lawn care company tells FOX 4 News workers were cutting grass at a home on 101st Terrace between Wornall and State Line, when the two-man crew saw a pick-up truck pull up to their trailer that was parked on the street.
The workers told police they saw a man jump out of the truck and take a leaf blower from their trailer, throw it into the back of the pick-up truck and then speed away.
He didn’t get very far. A Leawood, Kan. police officer pulled over the pick-up near 95th and State Line. As officers approached the truck with their guns drawn, witnesses tell FOX 4 News the driver peeled out, tearing up a grass median on State Line Road before turning into the gated Chartwell subdivision on the Missouri side of the state line.
“We were out on our morning walk,” said Kenneth LaBrie, who lives in Chartwell. “We heard this big noise coming down because he was going at a high rate of speed. And we looked up and police were behind him. He was going wild so we ducked behind a big oak tree on 96th Terrace.”
LaBrie says the thief bailed out of the truck and scaled a wall surrounding the exclusive subdivision. The suspect was last seen running east on Bannister Road. Kansas City police combed through neighborhoods on foot looking for the man. They have yet to find him.
The stolen leaf blower and other gear have been recovered from the abandoned pick-up. Police seized the truck as evidence in the case. They hope the registered owner may help them identify the thief.
Now you may be wondering: How does a thief get inside a gated community? Homeowners say Chartwell gates are unlocked from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and the crook was lucky to find the gates open as the truck tried to get away from police.
