Charges: Minnesota Man Used Bad Check to Steal Expensive Pick-up from Rochester Dealership

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- The Olmsted County Attorney’s Office has charged a Minnesota man accused of using a bad check to rip off a local car dealership. 

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The criminal complaint was filed in Olmsted County Court on Tuesday. The charges stem from a transaction that occurred in Rochester last Spring. 

Rochester Police responded to the dealership in the 3300 block of Wilder Rd. Northwest on the report of a stolen vehicle on April 28. An employee reported a man, identified as 40-year-old  Andrew John Leroux of Hugo, MN, used a personal check to buy a 2021 Ford F-250 truck.  

The check was written out for $66,760.50 and appeared to have been connected to a bank account with sufficient funds. Staff at the dealership then discovered the bank account associated with the check had been closed after Leroux had left the dealership with the pick-up, the complaint says. 

Employees at the dealership attempted to contact Leroux but the phone number he provided had been disconnected, the charges say. The dealership had a copy of Leroux’s driver’s license and police contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office to request they try to find the vehicle.

Read More: Rochester Police Investigating Costly Theft & Attempted Break-in

Washington County Deputies reported finding the vehicle in a shed on Leroux’s property with the doors removed, the complaint says. They told Rochester authorities that they’ve dealt with Leroux in the past and warned the vehicle would be gone if it wasn’t quickly seized. 

Law enforcement then towed the vehicle away from Leroux’s residence in Hugo. The charges say no one was at the home home when authorities tried to make contact with him. 

Leroux is charged with a felony count of motor vehicle theft and a felony count of issuing a dishonored check. 

Court records indicate the alleged pick-up theft occurred while Leroux was on probation for a felony theft conviction in Isanti County. He’s also been convicted of felony issuing dishonored checks throughout Minnesota in 2007 and 2017. 

Leroux is due to make his first court appearance in the Rochester vehicle theft case next month.

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