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Warrant issued for Krispy Kreme truck thief

Mike Miller  —  5/05/2008 7:11 pm

What chase next for Warren Whitelightning?

An arrest warrant was issued late Monday afternoon for the apprehension of the man who stole a Krispy Kreme truck in Madison and led police on a low-, medium- and high-speed chase, much of it captured on videotape, crashing into a squad car along the way.

Whitelightning entered no-contest pleas in February to most of the charges that resulted from the University Avenue chase last November, and he was scheduled for a sentencing hearing Monday afternoon in front of Dane County Circuit Court Judge Stuart Schwartz.

But Whitelightning was a no-show for the sentencing -- there was a strong chance he would be going to prison -- and Deputy District Attorney Tim Verhoff asked that an arrest warrant be put out for Whitelightning's capture.

Whitelightning started the events of the early morning of Nov. 24 by going into the Open Pantry at 2216 University Ave., where he allegedly swiped eight giant red hot pickled sausages, then walked out the door to find the Krispy Kreme truck unoccupied.

The store clerk and the Krispy Kreme driver could only watch as Whitelightning drove the truck twice around the store's parking lot, then out onto University Avenue.

Whitelightning then led officers from both the Madison Police Department and the UW-Madison Police Department on a chase throughout the University Avenue area and into nearby residential sections, at times driving on the wrong side of the road and at times reaching 80 mph, although he also proceeded at lower speeds.

At one point, Whitelightning stopped the truck, put it into reverse and rammed a squad car. Much of the chase, including his backing into a squad, was videotaped from police cars and is now appearing on the popular Web site YouTube.

Eventually Whitelightning, headed outbound on University Avenue, crossed the cement median in a shower of sparks and almost lost control and overturned the truck, then turned into the Copps grocery store parking lot and came to a halt. He got out of the truck and gave up. When asked if he had been drinking, he replied, "I want an attorney."

In court Monday as the judge and lawyers waited for Whitelightning to appear, assistant state public defender Armold Cohen told Judge Schwartz that Whitelightning had kept an appointment last week to go over a pre-sentence report that had been prepared by the Department of Corrections at Schwartz's request.

That report recommended a prison term of two years behind bars followed by three years of extended supervision. Whitelightning faces sentencing on convictions of retail theft, truck theft, criminal damage to property, eluding officers, hit and run and his fourth time drunk driving.

Whitelightning, of Crandon, was being held in the Dane County Jail under $2,100 cash bail at the outset of the case but was released after Jean Jacobson, also of Crandon, posted the cash bail. It is likely that bail will be forfeited.

Mike Miller  —  5/05/2008 7:11 pm