Three persons were arrested and charged with felonies after an incident in Cooper County on September 1.

According to the Cooper County Sheriff’s Department, at around 6:30 a.m., a Land Rover with a temporary tag was observed sitting stationary in the area of Boonslick Drive and Logan’s Lake Road in Boonville. About the same time, a silver Ford F250 was seen backing away from a residence of a local citizen in the same area. The Land Rover was seen at least twice following the Ford in the area between Orscheln’s and Wal-Mart.

With something not seeming right, the owner of the Ford was contacted and advised the sheriff’s office that his vehicle was missing from his residence, and no one was supposed to have it. Deputies, Boonville Police officers and Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers began to filter into the area to try and locate the vehicle. The owner of the Ford contacted the sheriff’s office advising he had just observed his vehicle near his residence again but it had taken off at a high rate of speed.

A deputy in the area spotted the stolen Ford F250 coming from Rankin Mill Lane and traveling south on Route B. The vehicle pulled onto Colonel Sanders Lane, and the deputy tried to initiate a traffic stop. The driver of the stolen vehicle stopped abruptly and ran from the vehicle into a nearby wooded area. A perimeter was set up to try and locate the driver.

The Land Rover was then found traveling south on Route B, just north of where the stolen vehicle had stopped. Units stopped the vehicle and detained two male occupants in reference to the stolen Ford.

It was later found out that the Land Rover had been taken from Houston, Texas, from Hertz Vehicles but had not been noticed until notified by the sheriff’s office. During the search of the area for the driver, employees of Days Inn notified units in the area of a suspicious male near their business. The male was detained and later arrested after items were found near the rear of Days Inn that linked back to the stolen vehicle.

According to court documents, 25-year-old Willie Eleby, of Houston, is charged with a felony for tampering with a motor vehicle; and 26-year-old Goldie Jones Jr., of Sacramento, California, and 28-year-old Tremaine Bunch, of Houston, each is charged with a felony for receiving stolen property. Bond for each subject is set at $15,000 cash or surety.

An initial hearing for each subject is pending at Cooper County Circuit Court.