Escaped criminal stole semi to jumpstart excavator

Escaped criminal stole semi in order to jumpstart an excavator according to a police report in Evansdale, Iowa earlier this week. 

The semi truck theft occurred at around 4 p.m. on Monday, April 22nd in Evansdale, Iowa at a business on 701 Jones Road. 

According to Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, witnesses reported seeing a bobtail semi truck driving away from the shop, over a flood control dike, and then down a bike path. A styrofoam bike was then discovered discarded at the scene. 

Later in the day, the bobtail truck was discovered parked outside of a house on 2515 Idaho St. in Waterloo. 41-year-old Walter David Aten was found inside of a building on the property with the semi truck key inside of his pocket. 

Aten told police that he took the truck because he needed it to jumpstart an excavator. He also told police that his bike, which he had left at the shop, was covered in styrofoam in case he got into an accident. 

Police arrested Aten for first-degree felony theft and his bond was set at $15,000. According to court records, he had escaped from the Waterloo Residential Facility at the time of the theft, where he was serving time for driving a stolen box truck. 

Aten also had a prior theft conviction from October 2022, when police found him walking around with a “no parking” sign and an ax.