MOUNTAIN GROVE, Mo. — A Springfield man was arrested Friday morning after police discovered a stolen U-Haul box truck parked outside a convenience store in Mountain Grove.
According to a probable cause statement filed in Wright County, an officer responded to Red’s Express on North Maple Avenue around 10:27 a.m. on February 6 after receiving a report that a U-Haul truck stolen out of Springfield was in the parking lot with a man sleeping inside.
When officers arrived, they made contact with two men at the vehicle. The driver, identified as Christopher Ray Barrett, told police the truck was not stolen and claimed a friend had rented it. While officers awaited confirmation, the passenger was released.
Dispatch later confirmed the truck had been entered as stolen by the Springfield Police Department on January 28. Authorities detained Barrett and impounded the vehicle following an inventory search.
U-Haul management informed officers that the renter, identified as Chad Irvin, had reported the truck stolen four days earlier and had already been contacted by police regarding the incident.
Barrett was transported to the Wright County Jail, where he was placed on a 24-hour hold. He is charged with first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle.
The investigation remains ongoing.
