Suspect in theft of van that sank in the Mississippi appears in La Crosse court

Bond is set at $10,000 cash for an 18-year-old La Crosse man accused of stealing a minivan and purposely sinking it in the Mississippi River.

Kavoendrea Compan faces charges of breaking into a neighbor’s residence on 5th Avenue in La Crosse, and stealing the van keys and a pet cat.

The vehicle owner was sent a video of his van going down in the water near Houska Park. Authorities don’t know what happened to the cat.

In court on Monday, Compan told Judge Gloria Doyle that he was wearing a GPS tracking monitor at the time, which would prove that he was somewhere else when the minivan went into the river. He also said witnesses would back up his claim.

Police, firefighters, and the La Crosse dive and rescue team removed the vehicle from the river on Friday. No one was reported injured.

Compan faces charges of burglary, car theft, and stealing a domestic animal, and is scheduled to return to court on Tuesday.