Rock Rapids, Iowa — A Worthington man who allegedly stole a car from the Nobles County Jail parking lot, eluded officers, and then crashed the car south of George has been sentenced to prison for his Iowa charges.
The Lyon County Attorney’s Office reports that 20-year-old Marlon Cardona has been sentenced in Lyon County District Court for the offense of Eluding, a Class D Felony.
According to Captain Kevin Flynn of the Worthington, Minnesota Police Department, the incident started on December 9, 2016, when someone came to the Prairie Justice Center in Worthington and while the person was in the building, his car, which was unlocked and had the engine running, was stolen from the parking lot. The Prairie Justice Center is the location of the Nobles County Sheriff’s Office, the jail, and other government offices. Flynn says officers located the vehicle in Worthington and after they attempted to stop it, the driver fled, starting a chase which went west on I-90 and then south into Lyon County.
The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office says the pursuit continued southbound on Jefferson Avenue and then curved westbound on 220th Street, a mile south of George.
The sheriff’s office says the pursued vehicle left the road and rolled on 220th Street about a half mile east of Ironwood Avenue. They report that the driver of the vehicle was ejected. The county attorney’s office says he tried to flee on foot. The female passenger in the vehicle was extricated by the George Rescue and Fire Department, as she was still sitting in the front seat with her arm pinned under the front door when they arrived. Both individuals were taken to the Sanford Rock Rapids Hospital. The accident report from the Iowa State Patrol indicates the victims were further transported to Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls. The stolen car, a 2007 Honda, according to the Iowa State Patrol, sustained about $6500 in damages, which was enough to total the car.
After sentencing on Monday, May 1st, Cardona was placed in the custody of the Iowa Department of Corrections for an indeterminate term not to exceed five years. He was ordered to pay restitution to the passenger who was injured. Prior to being sentenced, Cardona had spent 143 days in the Lyon County Jail.
