The Jasper County Sheriff’s Department is currently trying to solve a big problem. Thievery has hit the county hard over the past weeks, especially in the Stringer area.
According to Sheriff Randy Johnson, 16 ATV’s have been stolen in the county over the past two months, and 13 of those have been taken from the Stringer area. The number has grown in the past several weeks, and he said in many instances the thieves have gone to extremes by dragging and loading ATV’s that don’t even have keys in them. During its investigation, the Sheriff’s Department has “push-pinned” a map in the office to indicate recent ATV thefts, and the Stringer area is heavily dotted with pins.
“As you can see, the whole southeast corner of the county has pins all over it,” Johnson said while referring to the map. “They go from County Road 10, over to CR 9, up to CR 12; mostly in Beat 4. We’ve just had a rash of them (thefts) over the past two or three weeks, if not longer. You’ll get one (a report) and won’t hear anything for a while, then you’ll get another one. Then, you turn around and look, and the number has grown.”
Johnson went on to say he believes the thefts have been “premeditated” - that the thieves are roaming the area, locating the ATV’s, and stealing them while residents are gone from their homes.
“These are 4-wheelers or side-by-sides that people have left outside their shed. They’ll leave and go to town or something, come back, and it’s gone. One of the victims just bought a 2021 model. He left, came home, and it was gone,” he explained.
With many of the ATV’s basically being dragged away from residences without keys in them, Johnson said it’s sad to think about the measures people have to take to secure their property.
“I guess people need to get to where they can chain their things to a pole or something. These people are just taking them; it’s like they are watching the houses, picking them out, and going back when nobody is there. I certainly think it’s premeditated. They are riding the roads and neighborhood, or are from the area or were from the area. They know what people have, and they know when they are not home,” he mentioned.
The department is currently trying to track down leads in its investigation, but the leads have been slim, and Johnson is asking the public for help.
“We don’t have anything that we can really sink our teeth in. We do have ideas of who may be involved, but nothing right now that we can hang on somebody. Some have been stolen during the night and some during the middle of the day, so you really don’t know when to look out for them,” Johnson said. “But, if you see somebody or see somebody at a neighbor’s house driving slow, please let us know or get us a tag number. Try to help us somehow, and try to help yourself. Put a camera up if you can. You know, I hate it that it’s getting to where you have to chain your own stuff down. Try to get it to where they just can’t come up and push it off or drive it off.”
To report suspicious activity to the Sheriff’s Department, call 601-764-2588.