Menu
One arrested for theft in Mississippi County
CHARLESTON -- A Mississippi County man is behind bars following a stealing investigation by the Mississippi County Sheriff's Department.
The investigation began last week when a local business owner contacted Mississippi County Deputy Cory Hutcheson to report that someone had disassembled and stolen all of the removable parts from a John Deere chisel plow parked in a rural Mississippi County field.
After meeting with the victim, Hutcheson photographed tire tracks and collected other evidence from the site of the theft, according to Mississippi County Sheriff Keith Moore. During the course of the investigation, Hutcheson obtained surveillance images that established that Gordon 'Bruce' Chapman Jr. was in the area the night the equipment was stolen.
The following day, the Sheriff's Department received information that the disassembled plow was hidden on conservation property near the site of the theft. That tip by led to the recovery of the stolen items.
Moore, Chief Deputy Charlie Marcum Deputy Mark Higgins and Hutcheson located Chapman on Thursday afternoon. Once the deputies established that the tire tracks from the field matched the tire treads on Chapman's truck, Chapman was asked to come to the Sheriff's Department, where he agreed to participate in a videotaped interview conducted by Hutcheson and Higgins. As a result of that interview, the deputies developed probable cause to believe he was responsible for the theft of the farm equipment.
At that time, Chapman was arrested.
Chapman, 40, of East Prairie, is charged with theft/stealing of property valued in excess of $25,000. He faces additional charges of first degree property damage and trespassing.
As of press time, Chapman remains jailed in the Mississippi County Detention Center, with his bond set at $75,000.