A Steelville man was arrested April 1 for allegedly tampering with and stealing Missouri State Highway Patrol equipment from a facility in Cuba.

Dennis Hope, 31, was charged with allegations of the class D felonies of stealing $750 or more and three counts of tampering with service of utility or institution in the first degree, as well as the class E felony of property damage in the first degree.

He is currently being held at the Crawford County Jail on a no-bond warrant. A counsel status hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. on May 7 at the Crawford County Courthouse.

The theft occurred on March 31 at a Missouri Department of Transportation storage shed in Cuba. Hope allegedly stole and damaged an estimated $17,000 worth of equipment, including two dive scooters, eight underwater video lights and a dive computer.

Four Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) motorboats were allegedly tampered with, and two lead batteries, a lithium-ion battery and tool sets were stolen. This rendered three of the motorboats inoperable due to the battery cables being cut and the batteries stolen.

According to a probable cause statement filed by the MSHP, Sergeant Kurt Merseal arrived at his dive van around 7 a.m. that morning to find items had been stolen from the vehicle. Investigators from MSHP’s Division of Drug and Crime Control responded.

Bolt cutters, a camouflage face mask and a Walmart receipt from the Cuba location showing the purchase of these items were found by investigators at the scene. They reviewed Walmart’s video surveillance footage at the time of the receipt and saw a male subject purchase the items.

In coordination with the Crawford’s County Sheriff’s Office, investigators identified the man in the video as Hope using previous jail intake photographs and a recent traffic stop.

Hope allegedly fled his residence on Dobkins Lane in Steelville before investigators arrived. A search warrant was obtained for the residence and investigators recovered most of the stolen items in an outbuilding and vehicle on the property.

Drug paraphernalia, including a glass pipe that tested positive for methamphetamine and a digital scale, were also found within the residence. The report notes these items were “easily accessible” to the 2-year-old and 10-month-old children living in the house.

Deputies located Hope on April 1 and placed him under arrest. During an interview, Hope told investigators he had been struggling with methamphetamine use and was “a little bit delusional” on the day he stole the items.

“I wasn’t myself and I did some stupid shit with your guys’ stuff,” he said. “I do apologize to you guys personally.”

Prosecuting Attorney David Smith filed a felony complaint alleging that Hope is a persistent felony offender. Hope has previously been convicted of burglary, stealing, possession of a controlled substance and stealing a firearm.

All of the stolen equipment was successfully located, recovered and returned to the MSHP.