Cody James Bale, 18, of Austin was charged on Thursday in Mower County District Court with felony theft-take/drive motor vehicle without owner consent.

According to the court complaint, police took a stolen vehicle report on Aug. 13 from a man who said he had parked his 2006 Ford Focus in the back lot of Midwest Diesel on July 28 for repairs and it was gone when he came back for it. He said the keys were in the center console. Dispatch advised that Bale was driving the Ford when it was involved in a traffic stop on Aug. 11.

An officer went to an area in the 1600 block of 12th Street Southwest where Bale was known to frequent and found the Ford Focus parked in the lot of South West Sales, the complaint states. He spoke with a man at South West Sales who said Bale had dropped off the Ford a short time before the officer arrived because it had “broke down.” He said Bale asked him to fix it and left.

Surveillance footage showed Bale exiting the driver’s seat of the Ford Focus and later entering the business, according to the complaint.

A Freeborn County deputy who had responded to a burglary call in Oakland arrested Bale later that day. The Freeborn County District Court complaint states that Bale was driving a stolen UTV and was found to be in possession of a collectible rifle and two containers of money that had been taken from the Oakland residence.

He was charged on Aug. 14 in Freeborn County District Court with felony first-degree burglary of an occupied dwelling, felony theft and felony receiving stolen property. He pleaded not guilty to those charges.

A review of Bale’s criminal record shows a prior conviction for theft and juvenile convictions for second-degree burglary and receiving stolen property.

Bale will appear in Mower County District Court again on Oct. 4.