MITCHELL – A Mitchell man was arrested on a warrant on charges of theft over $750 and burglary after Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department deputies began an investigation on Saturday, August 26, 2023.
Officers responded to a call at 8:40 p.m. at 858 State Road 37 in Mitchell after a report of stolen items.
The homeowner reported a Chevy small block racing engine with aluminum heads, a 427 big block engine, a 454 big block engine, and a concrete power trowel had been stolen from an enclosed barn on the property.
The caller believed 41-year-old Travis Sanders, of Mitchell, had stolen the items. The caller reported he leases a home to Sanders on the west side of the property, along with a two-car garage to the south of the house.
The call reported there are also other barns located on the east side of the property which Sanders has no access to.
The caller told police that a friend of his had been in contact with Sanders about purchasing the three engines and that is how he knew Travis was selling the stolen property.
A cousin of the caller told police he had purchased the stolen concrete power trowel for $100 from Sanders. The trowel was in the back of the cousin’s truck. The cousin also had text messages between him and Sanders about the purchase and showed them to police. The cousin purchased the trowel on August 26. He also had a receipt of sale for the purchase.
On Saturday, September 2, 2023, police contacted the man who had offered to purchase the motors from Sanders. The man who owns an automotive shop told police he received a call from Sanders wanting to know how much the engines were worth and if he would purchase them. Sanders brought the motors to the man’s shop and he recognized it because he had rebuilt the motor for the owner. He went ahead and purchased the motors for $600 from Sanders and alerted the owner he had the engines. Sanders left a handwritten receipt for the sale of the motors with the shop owner.
Text messages between the automotive shop owner and Sanders were also shown to the police.
On Saturday, September 9, 2023, officers spoke to Sanders at his home. Sanders admitted to stealing the items out of a barn and selling them. He told police he thought the “items were junk”.
The information was forwarded to the Lawrence County Prosecutor’s Office and a warrant was issued for Sanders’ arrest.
