30-04-2025
Springfield man pleads guilty to auto thefts, money laundering
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A Springfield man accused of auto theft and scrapping of dozens of vehicles has pleaded guilty to tampering with motor vehicles and money laundering and will be sentenced in July.
Charles Lynn Crouse, 55, is one of three men accused in connection with a series of vehicle thefts from October 2022 to February 2023. He was set to go to trial on Wednesday, April 30, but changed his plea under an agreement with prosecutors.
Sentencing is set for July 23, 2025. Judge Kaiti Greenwade ordered a sentencing assessment report, and Crouse was told to report to probation and parole officers within seven days.
Crouse was implicated in the theft or movement of 60 stolen vehicles. One arrest led to another in connected cases.
OzarksFirst previously covered Crouse's 60-vehicle patronage of All Metal Recycling from Oct. 3, 2022, to Jan. 27, 2023. Of the 60 vehicles, only two were accounted for with proper bills of sale, and one of those was for a 1991 Ford Ranger that had been reported as stolen before Crouse sold it for scrap metal.
The other two men charged in the case, Randy Dale Lindberg and Carl Allen Jackson, were sentenced to jail time on similar charges.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
