DOCUMENT: Crime

Cops: Mechanic Late For Work Stole City Bus

Minnesota man, 31, jailed on auto theft rap

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Tardy Bus Thief

FEBRUARY 22--A mechanic arrested for stealing a city bus told Minnesota cops that he took the vehicle “because he was late for work,” according to court records.

The driver of bus #1289 told cops that she was on break Wednesday at a St. Paul gas station when the theft occurred. The Metro Transit employee left the bus running, but had activated its hydraulic brakes.

Upon discovering the bus missing, the driver contacted police, who then tracked the vehicle’s location via a GPS signal. After pulling the bus over after it exited Interstate 94 in Bloomington, officers arrested Gregory Jennrich, 31, who was alone inside the vehicle.

Jennrich, seen above, was nabbed about eight minutes after the bus was boosted, according to the Pioneer Press.

“Defendant commented that he took the bus because he was late for work,” a probable cause statement noted. Jennrich allegedly opted to boost the bus after locking his keys in his car.

During police questioning, Jennrich, a Metro Transit mechanic, said that he was on his way to work when he stopped at the St. Paul gas station. Jennrich said that he was worried that “he was going to be late for work, so he took a bus that was parked outside the gas station to get there.”

Jennrich, who has worked for Metro Transit since last April, was charged with auto theft, a felony carrying a maximum five-year prison term. He is being held in lieu of $5000 bail at the Hennepin County jail. (2 pages)