Suspect messaged victims, asking if they wanted their car back

By Sarah Nigbor

ELLSWORTH – After allegedly stealing a vehicle from an Ellsworth bar parking lot this past winter, the thief messaged the victims asking if they wanted their vehicle back. In a bizarre series of calls and messages, the victims eventually received their car back and one Ellsworth man was arrested.

Tejay Allen Skordahl, 38, posted a $10,000 signature bond on felony drive or operate vehicle without consent and theft – movable property charges June 28. If convicted, he faces up to 3.5 years in prison and/or fines up to $10,000.

According to the complaint: At 7:35 p.m. Jan. 23, a caller reported a vehicle theft from the parking lot of Just Ka’s Cocktails & Cuisine (325 W. Main St., Ellsworth). The vehicle owners said they had arrived at the bar at about 4:30 p.m. to watch a football game. When they went outside at 7:30 p.m., the 2003 BMW 325XI was gone; the keys had been left in the vehicle. Inside the car were tools and a garage heater, valued at approximately $600. Later that evening around 8:29 p.m., one of the vehicle owners called 911 to report the vehicle had been seen at Skordahl’s Ellsworth home. When police responded to Evergreen Estates, the vehicle was not there and neither was Skordahl. Then around 8:57 p.m., a caller reported a suspicious man lurking around Just Ka’s parking lot with a flashlight. It appeared he was looking for something, but he was not located.

A surveillance video revealed a man in a tan coat and blue jeans walking up to the stolen vehicle. He wore a black backpack and had a black hood on. In the video the suspect, later identified as Skordahl, walks around the vehicle checking it out before getting into it, starting it and driving it away.

On Jan. 25, one of the vehicle owners called police and said she’d received a message from Skordahl on Facebook, telling her to contact him for the vehicle’s safe return. The vehicle owners went to the police station, where they called Skordahl with a police officer present. Skordahl told them he could drop the vehicle ou some where in Bay City and let them know where it is, that other people were trying to steal it for some reason. He said he’d call them back in a few minutes with a location, but they waited for more than an hour with no call. When they called him back, Skordahl said he’d let them know a location soon; however, he did not return the vehicle that night.

At 7:50 a.m. Jan. 26, Skordahl told police that he no longer had the vehicle, but that the person who did would drop it off at Runnings in Red Wing, Minn., in 30 minutes. Police talked to the vehicle’s owners at 5:05 p.m., who had the vehicle back (it had to be towed to their residence), but the keys hadn’t been returned with it.

Skordahl is scheduled to appear in Pierce County Circuit Court for a preliminary hearing at 2 p.m. Aug. 1.

Tejay Skordahl