SIKESTON -- Eight area residents including three Sikeston men were arrested following an investigation into the theft of approximately $35,000 worth of motorcycles and four-wheelers.
According to a press release from the Sikeston Department of Public Safety, thieves apparently entered the fenced area of B & B Boats and Bikes, 110 Missouri, after business hours on Tuesday night. This incident along with the theft of three four-wheelers in Miner over the holiday weekend led to a partial activation of the SEMO Major Case Squad. Information was soon obtained that the stolen property had been moved to Mississippi County.
While officers were checking the Charleston area in surveillance vehicles, they spotted two of the stolen motorcycles, which were covered with a sheet, in the back of a pickup truck. The truck was followed by the surveillance team into the state of Illinois where Illinois State Police stopped the vehicle and arrested the occupants.
The occupants were identified as Ricky Bell, 45, Cortez Evans, 36, and Tim Easton, 38, all of Charleston.
Another team from the Major Case Squad observed a truck that had possibly been used in the theft from B & B at a home west of Charleston. During a check of this residence, two wanted suspects, Dustin Baker, 26, of East Prairie and Tom Lubish, 22, of Sikeston, were located and arrested, one after running into an adjacent cornfield.
Two of the stolen motorcycles and a stolen trailer used in the theft along with a portable loading ramp for the stolen all-terrain vehicles were found at the residence.
Baker and Lubish have both been charged with several counts of stealing and disposing of stolen property.
Two Sikeston men, Dion Savage, 27, and Glenn Mansfield, 32, were arrested Wednesday by SEMO Major Case Squad members and have been charged with receiving stolen property.
Savage was arrested after two of the three stolen four-wheelers from Miner were found in his possession.
Mansfield was arrested for apparently brokering the deal for the sale of the four-wheelers to Savage.
While checking for additional items stolen by Lubish and Baker, a four-
wheeler which had been reported stolen May 23 to the Scott County Sheriff's Department was recovered from Hallie Bonner on Ruth St.
A tractor that had been stolen from Bill Green Equipment in Miner was also recovered during the investigation, leading to the arrest of a third subject involved in the theft ring, Kurt Ochoa, 37, of Scott County.
Ochoa was arrested on Thursday morning by Major Case Squad members and charged on several counts of stealing and disposing of stolen property.
Bell, Evans and Easton have been charged by Illinois authorities with possession of stolen property. The three Charleston men are being held in the Tri-County facility in Ullin, Ill., with a $25,000 cash bond.
Baker and Lubish are currently being held in Scott County with a $50,000 bond and are charged with burglary, several counts of stealing and disposing of stolen property.
Ochoa is currently being held at the Miner Police Department with a $10,000 bond and has also been charged with tampering with a motor vehicle.
The SEMO Major Case Squad is made up of members from the New Madrid County Sheriff's Department, Scott County Sheriff's Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol and Sikeston DPS.
Authorities credit the Squad's success in their investigations to the cooperation between the participating agencies' department heads and stated this investigation would not have been resolved as quickly without the cooperation and manpower supplied by each of the participating agencies.
The SEMO Major Case Squad also acknowledged and expressed gratitude for assistance from the Mississippi County Sheriff's Department and the Charleston Department of Public Safety during this investigation.