Police say a Cape Girardeau couple stole a car from a local dealership but were foiled by the vehicle’s global-positioning system.

Samuel Lester Brown, 53, and Amanda Mistell Grubbs, 32, were arrested in Alexander County, Illinois, and detained in the Tri-County Detention Center after Illinois State Police found them inside the stolen vehicle, according to a probable-cause statement filed in the case.

They are charged with first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle. Brown and Grubbs received the same bond setting — $10,000 cash or surety.

On Thursday, Brown and Grubbs visited Car-Mart and asked two salesmen about a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu, according to the statement filed by Cape Girardeau police officer Paul Zajicek.

Both salesmen said they could not sell them the vehicle because they did not have a job or residence, Zajicek wrote.

The second time, the salesman noticed the keys were missing after he placed them on the trunk of the vehicle, according to the statement.

Brown and Grubbs denied taking the keys and looked at other vehicles for about half an hour, went to a business across the street and walked to a house just south of Car-Mart, according to the statement.

When the salesmen arrived at work Saturday, the vehicle was gone, Zajicek wrote.

A GPS tracker showed the vehicle was parked in the 27200 block of Cache River Road in Olive Branch, Illinois, according to the statement.

Illinois State Police went to that location and found the couple inside the vehicle with all their belongings and the missing keys from Car-Mart, according to the statement.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address: 27200 block of Cache River Road, Olive Branch, Ill.