Police charged a man with two separate crimes Tuesday night-stealing a pickup truck and ramming it into the Central Iowa Shelter and Services building blocks away.
Around 6pm police took the report that a man had stolen the pickup from outside the Quick Trip in the 1400 block of Ingersoll. He was described as intoxicated by witnesses.
Shortly after that, an off-duty Des Moines Police officer radioed in that he'd found the truck, after the driver smashed into the back end of the Central Iowa Shelter and Services building in the 1400 block of Mulberry avenue.
Because of the damage of the truck, city engineers were called to assess the structure to see if there were any problems with the building before removing the truck.
The victim originally tried to run but was apprehended. He asked to be taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
Des Moines police have charged the man, 59 year old Timothy Jones, with 2nd Degree Theft for taking the truck and 1st degree criminal mischief for intentionally crashing the truck into the shelter.