Man charged with stealing ATV from just outside city

NEW MADRID, Mo. - On April 20 at around 7:30 a.m., an officer was called to Femmer Drive for found property.

The officer found a black and yellow ATV parked in the backyard of an empty residence with no one around. He ran the serial number on the ATV, got the registered owner’s name, and made contact with him over the phone.

The owner said he did have an ATV matching that description, but did not think it was missing. The owner then checked his storage building just outside New Madrid and found the ATV had been stolen.

A witness at the scene identified a man he saw walk away from the stolen four-wheeler the night before. Officers knew where the man was staying just down the street.

They went to a camping trailer where the man was staying and made contact with him there. He denied any involvement in stealing the ATV, but after he was arrested he was found to be in possession of the key to the four-wheeler.

Because the theft took place outside the city limits, a New Madrid County deputy completed a probable cause affidavit. The man was later charged with burglary and stealing and he was held on a warrant with a $15,000 bond.