Jet Ski theft foiled by witness

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Christopher Walls not only thought something was fishy about the two men he saw on Nye Street around 1 a.m. Sunday morning, he called police to check it out.

That action resulted in the arrest of Josiah Bartlett, 25, of St. Paul and the return of two Jet Skis to owners Victor and Brenda Williams.

According to the police report, Walls, who lives on 12th Street, saw two men turning a trailer around (with the Jet Skis on it) in the driveway at 503 Nye St. and then hook it up to a light-colored SUV. It seemed suspicious to the 20-year-old and he called police.

A Hudson squad car was in the vicinity and responded, but the SUV was nowhere in sight. Another HPD squad was on I-94 and proceeded toward Minnesota in hopes of spotting the vehicle with the trailer. Officer Ed Rankin drove westbound as far as Manning Avenue but did not see the SUV. He turned around to head back to Hudson when he spotted it heading west and turned back to follow it.

According to HPD Chief Marty Jensen, Rankin notified the Woodbury Police Department of the incident, but they were unable to respond immediately. They gave permission to the HPD to make the traffic stop, which they did, arresting Bartlett, who was alone in the vehicle. His accomplice apparently was driving in a separate vehicle.

Bartlett faces charges in Hudson and Minnesota including driving while intoxicated and possession of stolen property. Police are continuing their investigation in an effort to identify the accomplice seen by Walls on the night of the incident.

Tags: crime and courts, jet skis, news, theft