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Car thief suspect arrested after hitting three vehicles, running from police

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Oct 31, 2011 at 11:20 am

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (KNSI) - A St. Cloud woman was shocked early Sunday to arrive home -- only to see someone she didn't know driving her vehicle out of her apartment complex, smashing into other cars and trucks as he left, according to police.

The victim called police shortly after the theft along the 300 block of 5th Avenue South just after 12:45 a.m. Sunday, St. Cloud police Sgt. Jeff Janssen said.

The 23-year-old woman told investigators as she arrived home, she saw someone pulling out of the parking space on the complex lot. When the victim approached the car, the driver, identified as Corey St. James Tell, 22, of St. Cloud, threw the car into reverse, hit two cars, then charged out of the lot, striking a third vehicle in the process, Janssen said.

The car was spotted a short time later in southeast St. Cloud and after a pursuit that last less than a half-mile, Tell was stopped and arrested.

Tell was booked into the Stearns County Jail on charges including vehicle theft, evading police, careless driving, driving without a valid license and three counts of hit-and-run.