Man arrested after trying to steal 70-ton crane in Chilton County

CHILTON COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC) - Representatives with the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office said a man was arrested after trying to steal a crane in Chilton County.

Authorities say they received a call on Monday, saying that someone was looking to steal a crane. The caller, who is the owner of a local wrecker service, said someone called him to come and pull the crane out of a wooded area behind a home, and that the person who had the crane said it had been given to him, and that he was going to sell it at a local scrap yard.

After remembering that he moved the same crane just a few years ago, the owner of the wrecker service called the owner of the crane, who said it had not been given away.

The person who stole the crane tried to drive it away, but ran into a ditch, causing it to be disabled. The suspect fled before deputies from the Sheriff’s Office arrived, but investigators identified and took 26-year-old Johnny Kent Mims into custody the next day. Mims was arrested on an outstanding Probation Violation Warrant and first degree theft of property.

The crane was later returned to its owner.

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