The 17-year-old Gays Mills teenager who was the subject of a manhunt for two car thefts and possible burglaries faces three felony charges.
Donald Joseph Tweedy turned himself in to authorities June 10, according to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.
Tweedy made his first appearance in Grant County Circuit Court in Lancaster Thursday on charges of driving or operating a vehicle without consent, vehicle operator fleeing or eluding an officer, and taking and driving a vehicle without consent.
Tweedy is free on a $10,000 signature bond. A preliminary hearing on the charges is set for June 26 at 10:30 a.m.
Tweedy was sought after a car theft in Bell Center June 3 and a pickup theft in the Town of Platteville June 4.
Tweedy is accused of stealing a white 1998 Ford Mustang belonging to his mother from a residence at 49480 Iris Dr. in Bell Center, south of Gays Mills, June 3. Tweedy’s mother reported the car stolen around 8 p.m., according to Crawford County Sheriff’s Department investigator Ryan Fradette.
Later that night, a vehicle matching the description of the Mustang was seen at the scene of what the Grant County Sheriff’s Office described as “several attempted burglaries” in Dubuque. Two people then got to Platteville in a car matching the description of the stolen vehicle, where a sheriff’s deputy tried to stop it.
According to the sheriff’s office, a pursuit was terminated after the car crossed into Lafayette County. The car then returned to Grant County, and the car was found abandoned on East Business 151 near East Mineral Street in Platteville early June 4.
On June 4 around 9 p.m., a caller to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office reported seeing two males, whose description matched the occupants of the Mustang, in the Stumptown Road area in the Town of Platteville, west of Platteville. An earlier report noted “suspicious activity” as well northwest of Platteville.
Then, June 5 around 10:30 a.m., a red Chevrolet pickup truck was reported stolen from a residence on Stumptown Road. The truck was recovered in Dubuque June 6, according to the sheriff’s office.
