SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A man in Springfield is facing charges accusing him of stealing spare tires off 18 Jeeps over the past month.
The Springfield News-Leader reports that 43-year-old James Gilland is charged with felony stealing.
Police say he took the iconic spare tire off the back of Jeep Wrangler and Liberty models in Springfield, mostly at parking lots for two hospitals and Missouri State University. He is jailed on $15,000 bond and doesn’t have a listed attorney.
Police say Gilland sold the aluminum rims of the tires as scrap metal, and sold the tires to a car ship.
Video surveillance helped lead to the arrest.
Gilland allegedly told police he was stealing the tires for money to support his opiate addiction.
