Two charged with theft of more than $10,000 worth of tools

Two people were arrested Friday on charges they broke into a garage in Cedar Rapids and stole an all-terrain vehicle and multiple power tools, totaling more than $10,000 worth of property.

Jake Hess, 50, of Springville, and Shantae Martinez-Vargas, 35, of Cedar Rapids are both charges with first-degree theft and burglary. Martinez-Vargas is also charged with eluding while exceeding the speed limit, speeding over 20 mph in a greater than 55 mph zone, driving while license suspended, failure to obey traffic control device, and second count of first-degree theft.

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According to criminal complaints, Hess and Martinez-Vargas broke into a garage on the 200 block of Eighth Street SE on July 9 and stole a red Kawasaki ATV with a snowplow, a blue Miller welder, a power washer, and other tools, with a value totaling more than $10,000. Both of their fingerprints were found in the garage, and Hess had the keys to the ATV on his person when he was later arrested.

Martinez-Vargas’ traffic charges and second theft charge stem from an incident Thursday in which she was found driving a stolen truck worth more than $10,000. The truck was stolen from a different person than the tools from the garage. When police attempted to pull her over, she fled, reaching 100 mph, according to a criminal complaint.

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Martinez-Vargas and Hess were both booked into the Linn County Jail Friday and had not yet had their first appearances in court as of Friday morning.

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com