Dec. 4—EATONTON, Ga. — Two men, one from Putnam County and the other from Jasper County, have been arrested in connection with stolen heavy construction equipment from two states, local authorities say.
Some of the equipment, valued at more than $126,000, has now been recovered, according to Putnam County Sheriff Howard R. Sills. Stone Hydraulic Grapple
The investigation followed a tip Sills received about one such piece of the heavy construction equipment located at a business at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Oconee Street in Eatonton.
There, a Kubota Skid Steer, valued at $85,000, was parked in the front, Sills said.
The serial number matched one that had been reported stolen in March 2021 from Atlanta.
The sheriff said the business, which has no official name according to tax records, is owned by Quirino Voncell Boles, of the 200 block of Hudson Drive, Eatonton.
In addition to the Kubota Skid Steer located there, law enforcement authorities also discovered:
* A Caterpillar Angle Boom machine, valued at $9,333, which had been reported stolen in Texas sometime in 2021.
* A Caterpillar Grapple Bucket, valued at $5,522, which also had been stolen out of Texas in 2021. Sills said the serial number had been removed.
* A Takeuchi Loader Bucket, valued at $1,500, also had its serial number removed.
* A 35-foot PJ brand name Gooseneck flat bed trailer, valued at $25,000, was also found. It was learned that it had been stolen from Texas in 2021, too.
When Boles was questioned about the stolen equipment discovered at his business, Sills said the man claimed to know nothing about it.
"Mr. Boles said he didn't know anything about any of the equipment," Sills said, Boles indicated to him, "It was just there."
All of the equipment was recovered at the scene by authorities with the exception of the Gooseneck trailer, which was left at the business because it could not been determined at the time whether or not it had actually been stolen.
Sills said it later was learned that it also had been stolen.
The sheriff said authorities returned to the business the following day, but the trailer had been removed.
Sills said authorities have have yet to determine where it went or who took it.
The investigation has thus far led to the arrests of two men.
The first suspect to be taken into custody was identified as Cortez Bashair Dennis, 39, of the 800 block of Turtle Cove Trailway, Monticello.
Dennis was arrested by Putnam County Sheriff's Office Deputy Sgt. Justin Brock.
Dennis was charged with two counts of criminal use of an article with an altered ID (identification) mark, and one count of theft by receiving stolen property.
Boles, meanwhile, was later taken into custody by Sills.
The 41-year-old Boles was charged with two counts of criminal use of an article with an altered ID mark, and four counts of theft by receiving stolen property.
Following their arrests, the suspects were taken to the Putnam County Jail in Eatonton where they were booked, photographed and bonds set for each of them at their first court appearances.
Log Grab Both men have subsequently posted bonds and been released from jail.