Josh Webb, 35, of Verdunville, was arrested in Logan County on charges of petit larceny, destruction of property and driving on a revoked license by Logan County Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Cobb with an assist from a member of the West Logan Crime Watch team on Nov. 22.
West Logan Police Chief Robert J. Ward said the arrest was made through the assistance of a member of his town's volunteer neighborhood watch group.
"Tommy Fortune, who is a good man and a good neighbor saw this guy trying to take some copper from a local business," Ward said Tuesday.
"He confronted the guy, who at first claimed that he had permission to take this stuff, but Mr. Fortune was suspicious and kept his eye on him. When he left, Tommy followed him and he had called 911. This just shows that having a neighborhood watch program in your area does help to prevent, deter and, even in some cases, fight crime. We advise people to observe and report suspicious activity and Tommy was pretty brave in doing more than that and deserves some respect for doing the right thing."
According to police reports, Deputy Cobb received a call from 911 dispatch about an individual stealing copper wire from the B&M Repair Inc., warehouse in West Logan.
"While responding, dispatchers stated that a gold Chevrolet S-10 was parked outside of the warehouse,” the police report said. “Upon arrival, I was unable to locate the gold Chevrolet. I proceeded to the residence of the 911 call and was told the vehicle had fled the scene and was being pursued by the caller through West Logan on First Avenue. As I came to the intersection of First Avenue, I observed a gold Chevrolet S-10 driving toward the front of my patrol vehicle. I blocked the gold Chevrolet's direction of travel and exited my patrol vehicle."
When Deputy Cobb went over to speak to the driver he reportedly observed several feet of copper wire in the bed of the pickup truck.
"The defendant then stated he was sorry and only wanted to make some quick money and that he would return the stolen copper," the report states. "The 911 caller (then) pulled up and stated that he witnessed the defendant cut the copper wire from pumps outside of the warehouse and put them in the back of his truck. He stated that the defendant then fled and he followed him until I arrived.”
After Webb was taken into custody, Tommy Fortune contacted the owner of B&M Repair and Cobb spoke with him over Fortune's phone. He told Cobb the copper was worth about $500.
"Upon search of the vehicle, I located several items commonly used for breaking and entering including a large pair of wire/bolt cutters, gloves, pry bar, hammer and pliers. Further investigation revealed the defendants' driving privilege had been revoked for two active DUIs," the report adds. "The defendant's actions caused damage to one pump due to the defendant cutting wire from the pump."
Webb later gave an audio confession to the alleged crimes. He was taken into custody and booked at the Southwestern Regional Jail at Holden at 9:35 p.m.
He wasn't alone on top of the hill at Holden that night as local police were involved in two other unusual arrests.
• Keith Joseph Durkee, 42, residence not listed, was arrested in Logan County on Nov. 22 by Chapmanville Police Patrolman D.J. Miller for obstructing an officer. He was booked at the regional jail at 12:45 a.m.
• Michael Phillip White, 24, residence not listed, was arrested in Logan County by Patrolmen Jarrett and Miller of the Chapmanville Police Department for fleeing while driving under the influence, driving left of center, DUI with injury and obstructing an officer on Nov. 22. He was booked at the regional jail at 3:47 a.m.
Reportedly, Patrolman D.J. Miller was handling a call about an alleged attempted suicide attempt where Durkee was allegedly laying in the middle of the road trying to be run over by traffic. Miller had his hands full with the depressed individual but the excitement didn't end there. No sooner did the Chapmanville Police officers get Durkee into custody than they had to respond to the call about White, who reportedly fled from police causing an injury.
Post a Comment
