Cottage Grove police arrest four teen car theft suspects, including two hiding in port-a-potty

(FOX 9) - Cottage Grove police say they arrested four St. Paul teenagers suspected of stealing a car and then fleeing from officers on Friday, Dec. 30.

At 7:39 p.m. Friday, officers spotted a vehicle on Indian Boulevard and Keats Avenue South that had been reported stolen from a garage an hour earlier, according to a Facebook post from Cottage Grove P.D.

The driver of the vehicle fled police at Jasmine Ave South and 75th Street South, turned right on Jamaica Avenue South, and continued northbound for about 1.5 miles until he crashed at Jamaica Avenue and Military Road, according to police.

The suspects, all teenage boys, then got out and fled on foot. They were all quickly apprehended. According to the police:

Responding officers arrested one within a couple of minutes
Officers found the second on foot with help from a police dog and a Minnesota State Patrol helicopter
The last two suspects were found hiding together in a porta-potty by a new housing development on Jeffery Ave South and 62nd Street.

The suspects — a 16-year-old, a 15-year-old, a 14-year-old, and a 13-year-old — were all taken into custody. Police believe they may have been responsible for other car thefts in the area. The investigation is ongoing.