He cut open a fence and stole $40,000 worth of property, sheriff says

A Saucier man cut open a fence surrounding the property of a tractor retailer and stole four riding lawn mowers, a trailer, trailer tires and other items, sheriff’s officials said.

Max Mitchell Benefield, 30, of Saucier, faces two counts of grand larceny, Sheriff Troy Peterson said in a press release.

Deputies received a report of felony theft March 2 and a second report March 3 from Ranchland Tractor ATV at 21277 U.S 49 in Saucier.

Employees told deputies someone had cut the fence surrounding the property and stolen four zero-turn mowers, a 20-foot trailer, a number of trailer tires and other items. The stolen property is worth about $40,000, Peterson said.

Detectives learned a zero-turn mower matching the description of one of the stolen mowers might be on a property in the 16000 block of East Adams Road in Saucier. They recovered the stolen mower there.

The detectives also made contact with Benefield, who lived just down the road, Peterson said, and recovered the stolen trailer and some of the other items at Benefield’s residence.

Deputies did not find the rest of the stolen property at Benefield’s home but expect to recover it within the next few days.

Benefield is being held in the Harrison County jail in lieu of a $20,000 bond set by Justice Court Judge Albert Fountain.

This story was originally published March 10, 2017 at 12:00 AM with the headline "He cut open a fence and stole $40,000 worth of property, sheriff says."