DARLINGTON — A Shullsburg man was sentenced Sept. 21, in Lafayette County Circuit Court to three years in prison and three years on extended supervision for breaking his probation in prior cases by stealing a county-owned truck and using it as a getaway vehicle in Iowa.

Kevin M. Niemeyer, 21, Shullsburg, pleaded guilty to felony charges of theft of a vehicle with a value over $10,000 and attempted arson, as well as a misdemeanor charge of theft. A felony charge of taking a vehicle without consent and a misdemeanor charge of possessing drug paraphernalia were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

The charges stem from an investigation into the May 28 theft of a Lafayette County Highway Department 2-ton flatbed dump truck.

According to court records, the red 1991 Ford F-600 was taken from a residence on Dunbarton Road, Town of Gratiot, where it was parked at the home of a county highway department employee. The employee had been out using it on a job earlier in the weekend.

The Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office first learned of the theft from police in Dubuque. Surveillance video showed the truck leaving the scene of a break-in at Moondog Music, a rare vinyl record and CD shop at 806 Wacker Dr.

The truck had lettering on it that identified it as belonging to the Lafayette County Highway Department. It was later located parked in a ditch on the southern city limits of Shullsburg on County O. An attempt had been made to set the truck on fire.

Niemeyer was on probation at the time after pleading no contest in December to a variety of charges, including taking and driving a vehicle without consent, causing bodily harm to a law enforcement officer and possessing narcotic drugs and methamphetamine-related drug paraphernalia. 

He was sentenced in those cases to six months in jail and three years on probation.