A man appeared in Mower County District Court last week on accusations that he stole two vehicles, crashed one of them and then tried to flee.

Nicko Rabe, 24, of Stewartville pleaded guilty Friday to one charge of felony theft of a motor vehicle with no owner consent.

At about 3:42 p.m. on June 19, 2014, Mower County Deputies were dispatched to a home in Dexter township to a car theft in progress.

A man had called police and reported his children were home alone and they saw a red-haired man walking around the house and then saw the family’s 2007 Ford Focus leaving the property. The homeowner told his children to lock the doors.

The man also told police there was a 1998 Plymouth Horizon in a ditch south of his property and saw a black SUV driving around the area. Police later learned the occupant of the SUV was the owner of the Plymouth in the ditch, which had also been stolen.

Police set up a perimeter and requested a police canine from the Austin Police Department. Police then learned someone had seen the red-haired man, later determined to be Rabe, was last seen out in the middle of a field and was wearing jeans and no shirt.

Later, police and bystanders saw Rabe run into a grove of trees. He was later located in a shed on the property. Police ordered him to show his hands and come out multiple times, but he refused to comply.

The K-9 then apprehended him by the foot. Police spoke to another man who was working near by and said he saw Rabe driving away in his car, the Plymouth. He didn’t know the man and didn’t give anyone permission to take his car.

He borrowed a co-worker’s car and followed the Plymouth, which crashed and then Rabe fled into the field near County Road 2 and 640th Avenue. The Ford was found at the location where the Plymouth was stolen. A pair of keys and a wallet with about $200 in it were in the Ford, which was still missing after Rabe was apprehended.

Rabe is expected to be sentenced on Aug. 11.