WORTHINGTON - Criminal charges were filed this week against a Worthington man who allegedly stole a vehicle from a hotel parking lot that was later recovered in Montana.
Aduo Omot, 27, was arrested in Butte, Mont. after a trooper with the Montana Highway Patrol discovered a 2015 Toyota Highlander that had been reported stolen.
The arrest stems from an investigation that began Jan. 20 after the Worthington Police Department was advised of suspicious activity regarding Omot, who was at the time a Comfort Suites employee. Surveillance video allegedly showed Omot mopping a floor and then opening a cash register, retrieving an item and putting it into his pocket. According to another employee, all the money was accounted for.
The officer was later called back to the hotel regarding a stolen vehicle. The alleged victim, who was a guest at the hotel, said her coat had been left in the hotel lobby with her car keys in the pocket. The coat was located by staff but her keys were missing, the complaint states. She filed a stolen vehicle report.
Upon his arrest, Omot claimed that a woman he didn’t know by name had given him her keys. He stated he was en route to Seattle, Wash. to visit family.
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Omot faces felony theft of a motor vehicle and misdemeanor tampering with a motor vehicle without owner permission.
His first appearance in Nobles County District Court is scheduled for March 26.
No mugshot was available.
