Two Rochester men are accused of working together during a three-week crime spree last summer that included multiple vehicle thefts.
Jeffrey Myles Folkert, 44, and Aaron Michael Anderson, 32, have both been charged in Olmsted County District Court with felonies including aiding and abetting receiving property, attempted theft, and damage to property, for the string of crimes that happened between Aug. 3 and Aug. 19 last year.
In one instance, Folkert and Anderson allegedly helped each other steal a pickup truck in Rochester, hook a stolen trailer and skid loader to the truck, then drive to Rice County in order to sell the stolen items. The abandoned truck was found the next morning in a cornfield.
Other crimes for which they were charged include two attempts to steal a flatbed semi and a flatbed trailer from the northwest Rochester business Hawk and Son's, once on Aug. 13 and again on Aug. 19.
Damage to a semi totaled nearly $2,000 in the second theft attempt, according to the complaint. A pickup truck captured by surveillance cameras during the incident matched the description of a vehicle stolen from a car dealer in Austin, a theft for which Folkert and Anderson have been charged in Mower County.
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Also last August, Folkert and Anderson were allegedly involved in stealing two more trucks, a skid loader and grapple bucket.
In addition to the crimes he allegedly committed with Folkert, Anderson was charged on Thursday in connection with the June of 2011 theft of a 20-foot aluminum trailer from a shed in southeast Rochester.
Anderson was also charged with receiving stolen property after allegedly selling a go-cart in June last year that he knew had been stolen by someone else.
A summons to appear in Olmsted County District Court has been issued for both Folkert and Anderson. Folkert's first court appearance is Sept. 17, and Anderson's first court appearance is Sept. 20.
