CdA suspect in stolen truck crashes arrested

A young man who recently moved to Coeur d’Alene was arrested early today after he allegedly led deputies in a short pursuit while driving a stolen truck that then crashed into a house and caught fire. Michael R. MacKinnon, 19, who recently moved from San Diego, Calif., was booked into the Kootenai County Jail on charges including grand theft, felony eluding and driving under the influence. About 3 a.m. today, sheriff’s deputies found a pickup that had been reported stolen a short time earlier from the parking lot of the Target store at Highway 95 and Canfield Avenue. The stolen truck had crashed and been abandoned on Government Way near Wilbur Avenue, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies followed footprints in the snow leading away from the stolen truck, then saw a large flatbed truck crash through the gate of Pacific Steel at 7448 N. Aqua Circle. The flatbed truck was driven northbound on Government Way, a short pursuit followed and the flatbed lost its cargo of about 26,000 pounds of plate steel onto Government Way. The pursuit ended when the truck turned into a dead end of the Juno Trailer Park. The driver jumped from the moving truck and fled on foot, while the truck crashed into a house at the south end of Juno Street and caught fire. Deputies and Coeur d’Alene police officers chased the suspect on foot and took him into custody a short distance later. Deputies put out the truck fire before it spread to the house, which was unoccupied at the time. The house suffered some structural damage due to the collision. Both stolen vehicles were significantly damaged and one sheriff’s patrol car suffered minor damage hitting the steel that fell from the fleeing truck.