Clarksville police said yesterday that they were in pursuit of a man for stealing a truck, crashing it into a home and then fleeing.

Later, a 21-year-old suspect was booked into Montgomery County Jail on charges of vehicle theft, driving under the influence and felony vandalism.

Around 3:20 in the morning, police were called to a house on Bluegrass Road after a resident there said a building supply truck had crashed into the home.

When officers arrived, they observed that a truck had veered off of the road, slammed into the house and then flipped over in the front yard.

A large corner section of the brick house had been smashed in.

The truck was empty, but inside police said, they found ID for a man who lived a short distance away.

Police also contacted the owner of the truck, who gave them information that led them to believe the vehicle had been stolen from a locked, gated area at a business on Commerce Street.

Officers then went to the home of the man whose identification they'd found in the truck. He was at home, officers said, and he smelled of alcohol, they noted.

He was taken to the scene of the crash and asked to take a sobriety test. He reportedly declined, but admitted he was not sober.

He then apparently confessed to officers that he'd been at a bar, intoxicated, and wanted a ride home, so he jumped the fence at the Commerce Street business and stole the truck, driving the $50,000 vehicle through the locked entry.

In a similar situation, a suspect would be well advised to speak with a criminal defense attorney before discussing allegations with the police.

Source: Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle, "Clarksville Police arrest man suspected of crashing a stolen truck into a house," May 28, 2012