St. Paul man charged with stealing SUV, wheelchair

Jan 13, 2024

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ST PAUL, Minn. — Prosecutors say fingerprints lifted from a vehicle that was stolen and recovered have led to criminal charges against a 29-year-old St. Paul man.

Court documents say Keon Donte McDowell is responsible for stealing a Chevy Tahoe with an electric wheelchair inside from a driveway on Jenks Avenue on July 10. The vehicle belonged to 29-year-old Kyle Schulz, who is struggling with advancing ALS and needs the electric wheelchair to live his life.

"It's almost like someone stole my legs," Schultz told KARE 11 following the theft.

Police found the SUV one day later on the 1000 block of Winnipeg, stripped of its wheels and tires, grill, headlights and side mirrors.

Prosecutors say investigators swabbed the Tahoe for DNA and fingerprints, and one recovered print was traced to McDowell. Booking photos from a previous encounter with McDowell were compared to surveillance video images from the theft and investigators say they matched, according to a criminal complaint filed last month.

Police then reviewed the suspect's phone records and found the phone was in the area of the theft and could be traced driving to the spot where the vehicle was abandoned.

Keon McDowell is charged with theft of a motor vehicle.

There was a silver lining to an otherwise depressing story: Ryan O'Neill with the O'Neill Foundation of Hope stepped up and donated a new electric wheelchair so Schultz could resume his life.

"He (Schultz) has a tattoo with the word hope on it and I just knew we had to act," said O'Neill.

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