Partee Sentenced for Midwinter Auto Theft Spree

Jeremiah Partee, 43, of Mountain Home, Ark., has pled guilty and been sentenced after an automobile theft spree in February of 2021. During some of the coldest weather in ten years, Partee wreaked havoc on the West Plains area. As previously reported by this publication, on February 14, Howell County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence on Private Road 8072 near West Plains for a report of an unknown man submerged in the homeowner’s hot tub. The tub was located on the patio of the residence, and according to the probable cause statement filed by Lieutenant Torey Thompson, the temperature was four degrees. 

The man in the hot tub was Partee, and the residence was close to the location where law enforcement discovered a stolen truck the night before. The suspect was taken into custody for his own safety. Due to apparent signs of medical issues from his exposure to the elements, Partee was transported to the hospital. He walked out of the facility prior to receiving treatment. After leaving the hospital, Partee stole more vehicles. 

A truck belonging to Partee was parked at a residence near where he was found in the hot tub hooked up to a trailer that had been stolen from Endurance Church in West Plains. 

In the ensuing days, West Plains Police Department took reports of two more stolen trailers, one of which was a car hauler valued at $19,000, and a truck stolen from the Southern Hills Shopping Center. 

The stolen truck was later discovered wrecked in Lick Creek in Ozark County. After fleeing from law enforcement in Ozark County, Partee stole a sedan in that area. 

Baxter County Sheriff’s Office took Partee into custody on February 17. The next day, Partee gave information to West Plains Police investigators regarding the location of the remaining stolen items. 

All the probable cause statements in these cases called Partee a danger to society. Not only was he on probation for similar thefts in Arkansas at the time of the crimes, but he victimized more than half a dozen local residents and businesses on his spree. 

Partee pled guilty on September 14 before the Honorable Steven Privette in each of the cases, except one. In that matter, he pled guilty only to a charge of stealing a firearm, and the Court dismissed the other charges in that case. 

Judge Privette sentenced Partee to five years in the Missouri Department of Corrections in five criminal pending cases. Each sentence is to be served consecutively to the other. Partee has also been ordered to complete a 120-day drug treatment program. Restitution to the victims  in the total amount of $7,941.81 as a condition of any probation was also ordered.

The start date of Partee’s sentences in Missouri was September 20, 2021.