URBANDALE, Iowa — Police say a mother and son are facing multiple charges after allegedly stealing two cars and more than 50 gifts from an Urbandale nonprofit last month.
The Urbandale Police Department says Alan Michael Ward-Well, 36, and his mother, 56-year-old Christina Marie Davis, were arrested last week for their alleged involvement in the EveryStep Giving Tree burglary from Nov. 16.
Detectives arrested Ward-Well on Nov. 29 and charged him with three counts of second-degree theft and one count of third-degree burglary.
Davis was arrested Nov. 30 and charged with two counts of second-degree theft and one count each of third-degree burglary, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.
According to a criminal complaint filed against Ward-Well, video captured him walking into the nonprofit and taking "numerous items totaling $3,750.30 without having a legal right to do so." The complaint says the video also shows him stealing two vehicles from the organization.
A criminal complaint identifies Davis as Ward-Well's mother and says some of the items stolen were later found in her car during an execution of a search warrant. Detectives searched Davis' coat and found 11 grams of methamphetamine.
Davis followed her son in her car after he stole one of the organization's vehicles, according to court documents.
EveryStep prepares hundreds of gifts for families who have lost a loved one and are going through the holiday season without them for the first time. Volunteers have still been persistent about following through with that gesture despite the circumstances.