MARION, Ill. (WTVO) – An Illinois man has been charged with theft after allegedly stealing a backhoe and driving about 10 miles to catch a flight at an airport.
Deputies in Williamson County say they were alerted to the alleged theft on May 18, following a call about a “suspicious” backhoe found parked in the lot at the Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois.
“A few moments later the owner of the backhoe arrived on scene and identified the equipment as belonging to his company,” the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook news release shared earlier this week.
The owner of the equipment then told deputies the backhoe had been parked nearly 10 miles away at a job site.
Deputies reviewed security footage from the airport, which showed the suspect arriving in the backhoe, parking, and walking across the lot to the airport lobby while carrying a guitar case.
The suspect was later identified as Timothy Baggott of Carbondale. He has been charged with a felony count of theft in excess of $10,000, the sheriff’s office said.
In response to “numerous inquiries” into the case, the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office provided an update on Wednesday, confirming that Baggott had flown from the Veterans Airport in Illinois to Portland, Oregon, on May 18. He was arrested days later on May 21, in Elko County, Nevada, in connection with the possession of a stolen vehicle, but was later released.
The following day, Baggott was arrested again in Elko County, Nevada, “for charges related to the possession of an additional stolen vehicle.”
The suspect was being held on a $40,000 bond in Elko County as of Wednesday. Williamson County also has an arrest warrant out for Baggott.
