Man steals 70-ton crane before veering it into roadside ditch and fleeing, AL cops say
A 26-year-old man is accused of stealing a 70-ton crane from a local wrecker service to sell it for scrap metal, Alabama police said.
Now he’s facing charges.
The man arrived at the local wrecker’s lot on March 14 and asked the owner to pull out the giant crane from the back of the property, the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
The suspect had said the crane was gifted to him and that he planned to use it for scrap metal, the business owner told police.
As the owner was retrieving the crane, he told deputies that he remembered moving the same crane for a local company several years ago.
The owner called the local company to ask if the suspect had been given the crane and the company said no, and the suspect should not be given possession of the crane, the sheriff’s office said in its statement.
The owner called 911 to report the theft, but the suspect had already taken off in the crane.
“The individual stealing the crane then attempted to drive it away but ran it into a ditch on the side of the road causing it to become disabled,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
By the time deputies arrived the man had fled the crane, which was returned to the wreck service owner, according to police.
The following day, deputies identified and arrested the suspect, who is facing an outstanding probation violation warrant and a charge of first-degree theft of property, according to the sheriff’s office.
“We appreciate the concern by the local wrecker service in calling and reporting the incident,” the sheriff’s office wrote. “We have worked a lot of theft cases over the years but this one definitely takes first place in the heavyweight category.”
