Thief Drives Vehicle Into Scott's Shoppe, Steals Cash Register Say Police

There is no drive-through window at Scott's Shoppe service station in Valley Junction, so theives created one.

A thief used a stolen 2008 Chevy Impala to break into the station, 542 Fifth St., sometime before 4 a.m. on Nov. 6, according to a West Des Moines Police report.

Officer Curtis Russell wrote that as he was on patrol he drove by the Valley Junction business and saw that the front doors had been smashed as if they were run into by a vehicle.

Russell saw tire tracks leading from the shop to the northwest part of the parking lot; inside the business he found a driver's side mirror and assembly for a spotlight likely mounted on the suspect's vehicle.

Inside the business officers found a trail of coins on top of the debris leading from the counter.

Owner Scott Baskerville arrived at the scene, telling officers that the business' cash register was missing, which contained about $150 in cash and several post-dated checks. The cash register was valued at $500.

Damage to the destroyed front doors was estimated at $5,000.

Baskerville said he has surveillance cameras recording in the shop at all times and he was asked to get footage from his DVR to investigators.

Later that morning, about 9:25 a.m., officers were called to a house in the 800 block of 13th Street on a report of a stolen white 2008 Chevy Impala. The car was last seen by its owner around 9 p.m. the night before.

As police were processing that report, another officer was called to the 1600 block of Vine Street, where a damaged cash register taken from Scott's Shoppe was found in pieces on the ground next to the abandoned stolen Impala.