Three Men Arrested for Auto Break-Ins at Little River Trailhead

Three Men Arrested for Auto Break-Ins at Little River Trailhead

Friday, May 25, 2012

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NPS Digest is reporting that three men have been arrested for breaking into parked automobiles in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Park dispatch received a report of suspicious activity from park employees at the Elkmont Campground ranger station on April 25th. Three men in a red vehicle had been seen at the Little River Trailhead looking into the windows of unoccupied cars. Ranger Heath Soehn searched for and found the car, which was heading away from the trailhead, and got its license plate number. While following the car he saw an object being thrown from the front passenger side window.

Soehn and Ellen Paxton, a special agent on detail from ISB, stopped the car for the observed littering violation and found that the item that had been thrown from the car was a window punch. Soen and Paxton soon learned that three vehicles with smashed-out windows had been found at the trailhead. During a search of the car, Paxton found property that turned out to belong to people from all three of those vehicles. The person who phoned in the initial report also identified the three men as the ones seen at the trailhead. Paxton prepared a criminal complaint charging them with felonies and later testified before a grand jury. A trial is set for July. The three men are believed to have committed eleven other larcenies in the park before being arrested by Soehn and Paxton.


Jeff
Hiking Trails in the Smokies

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Two more arrests made involving "car clouting" in the Smokies

Two more arrests made involving "car clouting" in the Smokies

Friday, November 12, 2010

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Earlier this week I reported that several arrests have been made in the Great Smoky Mountains involving car break-ins and thefts. This mornings' NPS Digest is reporting that two more arrests have been made involving 15 vehicle break-ins in recent weeks. Here's the report:

Beginning on September 20th and ending on October 29th, approximately 15 vehicle larcenies occurred within the park at various trailheads, with the vast majority being in the Greenbrier area.

Ranger Jared St. Clair led an investigation by his district ranger staff. They were joined by a Forest Service special agent because many larcenies were also occurring on Forest Service lands. Two suspects were ultimately identified – James and Jamie Walker of Cosby, Tennessee.

On November 3rd, the Walkers were arrested by local police on unrelated charges. When special agent Jeff Carlisle and the USFS special agent interviewed them at the county jail, they admitted to several of the break-ins. Carlisle and St. Clair again interviewed one of the Walkers a few days later. During that interview, he admitted to all the break-ins and added two others. A presentation will be made to the assistant US attorney and both will be charged with multiple felony counts, including breaking and entering, theft of property and bank fraud.

With the closing of these cases, the park has cleared the majority of open larceny cases. Three separate groups of car clouters have been arrested.


Jeff

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Several arrests made involving car break-ins & thefts in Smokies

Several arrests made involving car break-ins & thefts in Smokies

Monday, November 8, 2010

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A slew of arrests involving car break-ins and car thefts have been reported on the NPS Digest over the last several days.

In the first incident reported last Thursday, two men and a women were arrested for breaking into the car of two college students who had parked their car at the Sugarlands Visitor Center for an overnight backpacking trip in September. The thieves were eventually tracked down after using the victims credit cards.

On Friday, NPS Digest reported that a man was arrested for stealing a van at the Mt. Sterling Gap parking area while a group was out on a hike. Detectives from a neighboring county who were serving an arrest warrant on unrelated charges at the residence of the thief the next day, found the van parked in front of the house. Numerous stolen vehicles in varying states of disassembly were found on the property. Investigators determined that he was operating a “chop shop” for stolen vehicles on his property.

Finally, today, NPS Digest reported that two people were arrested for breaking into the car of a Great Smokies employee while she was out hiking. The two thieves took personal property and credit cards that were subsequently used on numerous occasions at local establishments. One of the stolen items was a camera, which the bandits pawned at an area pawn shop. This would be their foil.

The takeaway: always lock your doors, and never leave any valuables in your car while out hiking. If you must leave valuables behind, at least lock them in the trunk. This isn't advice for just the Great Smoky Mountains, but for any hiking location.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

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