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Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man who was arrested in late September after the victim of a vehicle theft spotted him in his stolen pickup stopped on the shoulder of Highway 14 has been sentenced to two years in prison.

41-year-old Merrick Jervis entered guilty pleas to felony counts of vehicle theft and damage to property on Monday. Court records show Jervis has a criminal history that dates back at least a dozen years that includes six previous felony convictions in four different southeastern Minnesota counties.

Jervis. Olmsted County ADC
Jervis. Olmsted County ADC
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According to the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office, the owner of the stolen vehicle returned to his Oronoco residence later in the same day that he came upon his stolen pickup and found a Ford Bronco parked on his property and damage to his garage door. The responding deputies surmised that Jervis had used the Bronco in an unsuccessful attempt to get inside the garage by ramming it into the garage door.

The investigative report on the incident indicated Jervis apparently decided to abandon the Bronco and stole the pickup, which was parked in the victim’s driveway by breaking the steering column and tampering with the ignition. The victim estimated that his garage sustained about $5500 damage and the damage to his truck could have been as high as $6000.

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