BRAINERD — An arrest warrant was issued for a 22-year-old Cass Lake man Wednesday, March 19, after he stole a vehicle in February from Taco Bell in Baxter.
Tyson Dale Sumner was charged with felony theft of a motor vehicle with no owner's consent. A warrant was issued by the Crow Wing County District Court after a notice of remote hearing was returned in a separate case where Sumner provided the Nisswa Police Department with a false name on Feb. 25.
According to the criminal complaint, at 10:48 a.m. on Feb. 25, law enforcement responded to a report of a vehicle theft at Taco Bell in Baxter. Dispatch said the victim said he ran into the restaurant to pick up a DoorDash order and while inside his vehicle was stolen.
Upon arrival, officers spoke with the victim and the store manager, who was reviewing the video of the incident. From statements and video, officers learned a 2018 Honda Accord Sport, dark gray with a Minnesota temporary license, was taken from the parking lot.
The victim said there was a check for about $6,000 and a pack of Gatorade in the vehicle, though he had already called and canceled the check.
From the video, at approximately 10:42 a.m., the suspects arrived in what appeared to be a Mitsubishi Outlander with no front plate. At approximately 10:44 a.m., Sumner gets out of the Mitsubishi and walks over to the victim’s vehicle.
At approximately 10:44 a.m., a female exits the Mitsubishi and walks into Taco Bell. A few seconds later, Sumner entered the victim's vehicle and left.
The woman was in Taco Bell waiting because the order she was there to pick up was missing and had to be re-made. DoorDash stated the order was picked up by a female Dasher.
At about 2:30 p.m., officers were advised a woman attempted to cash the check from the vehicle at a bank in Walker and left in the stolen vehicle. Cass County later located the vehicle and arrested a man and woman. Local officers reviewed the booking photos from Cass County and they did not match the description of the suspects from the theft at Taco Bell.
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On Feb. 26, law enforcement sent an administrative subpoena to DoorDash and on Feb. 27, they received information from DoorDash regarding the account for the driver who picked up the order at Taco Bell on Feb. 25.
Officers called the woman registered with the account who stated she does have a DoorDash driver account. She said on Feb. 25 she was at her work and her friend was doing DoorDash deliveries using her account. She said her friend drives a 2020 Mitsubishi Outlander.
She also told officers her friend uses her DoorDash driver account because they live together and there is something wrong with the friend’s account. Her description of the friend matched the woman who dropped off Sumner at Taco Bell.
She told officers she did not know of any man who would have been with her friend. She advised the friend recently moved to her residence from Oklahoma.
Officers called the friend who stated she did use the DoorDash account and had a pickup at Taco Bell on Feb. 25, at about 10:40 a.m. She said she believed she knew why officers were calling.
She explained she dropped her friend off at her work that morning. Afterward, she was approached by a man who told her he was just released from jail and wanted a ride.
He said he was going to Cass Lake and she agreed to give him a ride to Taco Bell, as that's where she was heading for the DoorDash pickup.
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She told officers that when she got to Taco Bell, he asked her to show him a map on her phone so he knew where he needed to go. He then exited her car and walked around the corner of the building. She said she went in and picked up the order she was there to get and when she returned, he was gone.
Law enforcement then contacted the Crow Wing County Jail and spoke with the jail who advised officers that Sumner was released from the jail on Feb. 25, at about 9:59 a.m. He listed the other males released before 10:30 a.m. that morning and none matched the description.
Officers received a video of Sumner as he was released from jail. Officers believed it was Sumner in the Taco Bell video.
Officers contacted an investigator to question the individuals about the possession of the stolen vehicle and were informed they did not wish to provide a statement.
The victim told law enforcement he was able to retrieve his vehicle. He stated his Gatorade and check were missing from the vehicle, but no other damage or problems were immediately apparent.
On March 6, officers met with the woman who dropped off the man at Taco Bell in regard to a photo lineup in an attempt to identify the suspect in the case. Officers printed out a six-subject lineup before meeting with the woman. They had Sumner's photo as No. 2.
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When she was shown photo No. 2, she immediately stated No. 2 was the suspect and she was 100% positive.
TIM SPEIER, staff writer, can be reached on Twitter @timmy2thyme , call 218-855-5859 or email tim.speier@brainerddispatch.com .
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