Man charged after stolen motorcycle stop near Perham

A missing license plate led Otter Tail County deputies straight into a stolen motorcycle case in Perham, where Jesse Scott Ross was arrested after a May 8 stop at about 3:30 p.m. revealed the black bike had been reported stolen in Wisconsin.

Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Deputy Kelby Jensen stopped the motorcycle in the city after noticing it had no plates, according to the criminal complaint. Ross was identified as the driver, and the stop quickly moved beyond a traffic check when he told Jensen the plates had fallen off, said the motorcycle was not insured and said he was on his way to get insurance.

The complaint says Ross also told the deputy he had bought the motorcycle about three to four weeks earlier in a trade. At one point, he said he had punched out the ignition after the previous owner lost the key. Later, he said he found a Yamaha key and gave it to the other person, a shifting account that came under scrutiny once deputies checked the bike’s serial number.

That number matched a motorcycle reported stolen out of Wisconsin, and Ross was arrested. The motorcycle was towed from the scene. He now faces charges of receiving stolen property, driving after revocation and operating an uninsured vehicle, charges that place the case in Otter Tail County District Court in Fergus Falls, where criminal and traffic cases filed in the county are handled.

For Perham and nearby communities, the case is another reminder that routine traffic enforcement can uncover wider theft activity. Otter Tail County’s daily activity report is updated every day and includes calls for service such as vehicle theft entries, giving residents a window into the kinds of incidents deputies are handling across the county.

The Perham stop also comes amid other recent vehicle-related cases in the area, including a motorcycle crash west of Perham and a separate four-wheeler crash case near the city. Together, those incidents show how quickly motorcycle and off-road vehicle calls can turn into criminal investigations, insurance questions and court filings in Otter Tail County.