A Monroe County man was arrested on multiple counts of theft following a joint investigation over the past few months by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department and Metro East Auto Theft Task Force.

Due to the Illinois Pretrial Fairness Act, which went into effect Sept. 18 and abolishes cash bail as a condition of pretrial release, police say he was released from the Monroe County Jail on Sept. 19 pending future court proceedings.

At about 5:30 a.m. July 18, a Monroe County Sheriff’s Department deputy spotted a GMC Canyon pickup truck traveling north on Bluff Road near Columbia. The truck appeared to be spray painted and pulling a flatbed trailer, police said. The deputy tried to catch up with the truck but had difficulty in doing so due to the morning traffic.  As the truck traveled north on I-255, the deputy checked the license plate on the truck but the plate information did not return quickly, so the deputy allowed the truck to continue north on I-255 into St. Clair County. 

A short time later, the deputy received the plate information and learned it did not match the truck. The deputy was able to obtain pictures of the truck and learned it entered Monroe County an hour prior without pulling the trailer. 

The MCSD’s Investigation Division later learned this suspicious truck had visited Monroe County several times. Investigators also discovered the truck had been painted numerous times, in a short amount of time, and the paint job was not done professionally. 

On July 20, MCSD investigators spotted the GMC Canyon traveling in Dupo and followed the truck to conduct surveillance of the driver. The truck went to a residence in the 2400 block of Renois Lane in Cahokia Heights. Once at that residence, investigators watched the truck back into the driveway and up to a trailer.  There were several trailers at the residence but one stuck out to police, as the trailer had a red Go-Kart on it with unique identifiers. 

On July 24, the MCSD responded to a residence in 5200 block of Timberlake Drive south of Waterloo for the theft of a utility trailer and red Go-Kart.  Once investigators learned of the items stolen along with the description of the stolen items, investigators went back to the residence in Cahokia Heights where they had photographed the Go-Kart and trailer previously while conducting surveillance. 

When investigators arrived in the area, they discovered the GMC Canyon had been painted again. 

Investigators contacted the Metro East Auto Theft Task Force and requested assistance with conducting surveillance, as it was believed the truck could be a stolen vehicle due to the plates not matching and the number of times it had been painted. 

The trailer and Go-Kart were no longer at the Cahokia Heights residence. As investigators from surveillance of this residence, they observed a white male enter the truck and leave the residence.  Auto theft investigators followed the truck and attempted to stop it near Triple Lakes Road, but the driver refused to stop and a pursuit took place. 

During the pursuit, the vehicle eluded police and was found abandoned in East Carondelet. The truck returned stolen out of Waterloo and was impounded, resulting in a joint investigation by the MCSD and auto theft task force.

On July 26, police executed a search warrant at the Cahokia Heights residence, durng which the suspect was taken into custody and transported to the Monroe County Jail. 

Investigators then learned of another address where stolen items could be stored. 

That same day, deputies took a report of a stolen camper with a value of over $26,000 from a storage facility on Valmeyer Road in Columbia. Shortly after learning of the stolen camper report, investigators located it in the 2600 block of Mousette Lane in Cahokia Heights. 

On July 27, investigators executed another search warrant at a residence in the 2600 block of Route 156 in Waterloo, where the stolen trailer and Go-Kart stolen from the residence on Timberlake Drive in Waterloo were recovered.    

That day, police presented their case to Monroe County State’s Attorney Ryan Webb, who formally charged Kelly R. Mills, 49, of Valmeyer, with two counts of possessing a stolen/converted vehicle, two counts of theft (unauthorized control) between $5,000-$10,000 and one count of theft (unauthorized control) between $10,000-$100,000.

Judge Chris Hitzemann issued bond of $100,000 for Mills, who remained in jail until his recent release.

Mills was scheduled to appear in court on Monday morning, but he was not present.

According to Monroe County State’s Attorney Ryan Webb, another status hearing will be scheduled soon for Mills.

Webb added he will file another petition to deny pre-trail release, as Mills has now shown evidence of being a willful flight risk. If pre-trial release is granted again, Webb said he will request additional sanctions be added as a condition of release.