Sumter County sheriff’s deputies tracked down a man who claimed he “borrowed” a backhoe from a nearby job site.
The owner of the John Deere backhoe arrived at the job site Monday morning on County Road 528 in Sumterville and noticed the backhoe was not in the same place he left it Friday. In addition, the front left tire was flat, the right rear tire was off the rim and there was damage to the right rear fender. In the front bucket of the backhoe was a large chain, which appeared to be used to tow the disabled backhoe back to the area it was taken from, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. Also a John Deere tractor was found in a field, not where it had been left days earlier.
A deputy followed the tire tracks to the nearby residence of 32-year-old Brett Aaron Franz.
When Franz was located by deputies, he said he had “borrowed” the backhoe to do some repairs at his residence. Franz said the tires of the backhoe were damaged while trying to return it. He claimed he was trying to repair the damage before the owner discovered it.
He apparently used the tractor to tow the backhoe back to the place from which he had snatched it.
He was arrested on a second degree felony charge of grand theft and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center. Bond was set at $5,000.
