By Seth Boyes,
Markell Deshawn Kinney
A Texas man was booked into the Winneshiek County Jail last week on charges related to the alleged theft of a vehicle from Spillville. The truck in question is believed to have been used to pull an ATM off its base during an early morning robbery which took place Saturday, Jan. 11 in Leroy, Minnesota — about 35 miles northwest of Spillville.
Court documents accuse 22-year-old Markell Deshawn Kinney of Houston, Texas, of stealing a truck at approximately 2 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 10 from Albertson Auto Center in Spillville. Court documents filed by authorities in Mower County said staff at the dealership confirmed the Ford was on the lot at the end of the business day on Jan. 10 — the truck was believed to have been used to rob the ATM in Leroy sometime before 3:20 a.m. on Jan. 11.
While investigating the theft of the truck in Spillville, Winneshiek County investigators also learned of three additional vehicles in Calmar which had been broken into and showed evidence of damage to their ignition systems. Staff at the Spillville dealership later found two additional vehicles on their lot with similar damage — Winneshiek County authorities ultimately charged Kinney with first-degree theft and five counts of third-degree criminal mischief.
Video footage obtained by the Calmar Police Department captured at least two individuals — one of whom investigators believe to be Kinney — buying gasoline at approximately 12:15 a.m. Jan. 10 from a convenience store near the location of one of the vehicles which was damaged.
The Mower County Sheriff’s Office was called several hours later to First State Bank in Leroy after a witness reported being awoken by a loud noise and seeing a light-colored truck, which the witness said appeared to have run into the bank’s drive-through ATM.
A Mower County Sheriff’s deputy later reviewed the bank’s security footage, which showed the truck “with what appeared to be a newer log chain attached to the rear.” Court documents said three individuals in dark clothing and white face masks exited the vehicle and used pry bars to remove the front of the ATM before “hooking the chain on and ripping the ATM off the concrete.” The thieves were captured on camera taking the cash out of the ATM — bank staff told investigators the machine likely contained between $20,000 and $50,000. The ATM itself was valued at more than $35,000.
A Mower County deputy reported seeing a dark SUV and light pickup truck approximately 10 minutes later at a location court documents described as being a 12-minute drive from the bank in Leroy — pieces of the Leroy ATM were later found near the intersection of State Line Road and 760th Avenue.
The deputy attempted to stop the two vehicles, which both turned south toward the Iowa-Minnesota border before splitting up — the SUV turned south onto Rampart Avenue, while the truck continued east on State Line Road. Court documents noted the truck was heading toward an unpaved portion of State Line Road, and the deputy lost sight of the vehicle due to billowing dust, but the truck was soon located resting on its roof near the intersection of State Line Road and 680th Avenue — about a mile after the pavement ended.
The deputy reported seeing a male — later identified as Kinney — “crawling out of the passenger side window.” The deputy ordered Kinney to halt, but court documents said the 22-year-old “stumbled behind the truck” and it was unclear to the deputy if Kinney had fled to the north or hidden behind the vehicle. Law enforcement was unable to locate the suspect at that time, but authorities did discover papers from the Spillville dealership, as well as an iPhone near the overturned Ford. Law enforcement later received a report of a man fitting Kinney’s description walking along a road near the city of Stacyville across the state line — and about 1.25 miles from where the Ford overturned. Court documents said deputies with the Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office initially detained Kinney. Investigators also found several items of dark clothing to the south, which court documents said were consistent with those worn by the thieves.
Minnesota court records filed on March 21, show the 22-year-old pleaded guilty to theft, property damage and fleeing in a motor vehicle. He was served with a Winneshiek County arrest warrant four days later at the Mower County Jail. He was booked into the Winneshiek County Jail at 5 p.m. the same afternoon, and he remains in custody a $20,000 cash bond. A hearing regarding Kinney’s bond amount is currently scheduled for Monday, April 7.
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