Story by Jamie Dexter, PIO for the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – UPDATE: Nearly all the property taken by two men arrested Friday for burglary has been recovered and returned to the rightful owners.
Investigators added theft of property and possession of burglary tools to the charges of Carl Martin, 37 and Stephen Williford, 38, who were arrested after they were caught with stolen items in their vehicle.
Based upon a tip, investigators Monday found more items the two had stolen, as they were apparently caught during one of multiple trips from the burglary site to a residence.
Items recovered were returned to 84 Lumber Company and Blackwell Construction, the owners of the stolen property. Several items that belonged to a subcontractor of Blackwell Construction were recovered as well, which amount to more than $10,000.
“I would like to personally thank the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Inv. Goeff Blanchard and Deputy James Derico for the quick response in the theft of my property,” said Chris Blackwell, owner of Blackwell Construction. “I will tell you that about 90 percent of builders have been touched by theft in the past 12 months and I’m proud to see that justice will be served to these criminals.”
ORIGINAL REPORT:
Two men were arrested early Friday morning after they were caught with several items that had been stolen from construction sites in the Liberty Park subdivision.
Carl Martin, 37 and Stephen Williford, 38, were arrested on a burglary charge with their bond set at $30,000 each.
Around 3:30 a.m., Deputy James Derico saw a vehicle leaving the Liberty Park area, and pulled over the suspect on suspicion of driving under the influence. Upon investigating, Derico noticed several items that seemed to have come from a construction site.
Investigators contacted a contractor for the site, who verified that over $10,000 worth of items were stolen, and that the items the two men were carrying were among those items.
“We have a very strong case against these two,” said Investigator Geoff Blanchard, who added that other charges are pending in this case. “In one of the homes where a major item was taken, buyers were set to close on the house today, but because of this, they weren’t able to.”
Sheriff John Fuson said he is proud of the quick results, due to quick response and a thorough investigation.
“Thanks to the attentiveness of Deputy Derico and an investigation well-done, we were able to get these two men off the streets and get these expensive items back to their rightful owner,” Fuson said.
The investigation is ongoing.