Sunday evening, Bellefontaine Police responded to the Lowe’s parking lot on the south side of town in response to numerous pickup trucks doing burnouts and being rowdy.
While enroute to the scene, an officer saw a truck that had left going faster than the posted speed limit heading north on Main Street.
Turning around to follow the truck, the officer clocked the vehicle’s speed fluctuating between 41 and 46 MPH in the 35 MPH zone.
Attempting the initiate a traffic stop, the truck accelerated north through the city, running red lights and nearly hitting a northbound car.
The officer briefly lost sight of the suspect until he accelerated to a speed of over 90 mph and regained visual contact near the intersection of 68 and 33.
The officer then called off the pursuit as the truck headed North on U.S. 68.
A short time later, officers were called to Waffle House where Garrett McGinnis, 19, of Urbana, said that his truck was missing.
The description given matched the truck that officers had chased through the city.
McGinnis told officers he left the truck in a parking lot on South Main Street and the keys were in the ignition.
When he returned to the parking lot, the truck was gone.
Shawn Bebout,19, of Mechanicsburg, was believed to have taken the vehicle.
McGinnis was able to track his Apple AirPods, which were in the truck to somewhere in Quincy.
He explained to officers that he did not own the truck but was making payments to another man.
That man was contacted and confirmed the story with officers.
He allowed them to list the truck as stolen.
The Logan County and Champaign County Sheriff’s Offices were notified of the situation.
McGinnis notified officers that the AirPods were in Fletcher.
Officers contacted Miami County Sheriff Deputies and were told that Bebout was known in the area and could be heading to Piqua.
A short time later he was found and taken into custody.
He confessed to taking the truck and was transported to Quincy by the Ohio State Patrol where Bellefontaine Police took him into custody.
He was transported to the Logan County Jail where he was lodged on charges of theft, and failure to comply with the order of police.