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WOODSFIELD -- Monroe County sheriff's deputies made two arrests related to stolen ATVs this week.
On July 23, Sheriff Charles Black's office received a report of a stolen Polaris ATV, along with several tools, from an elderly man in Bethel Township. The ATV had been parked beside the victim's house, and the tools were located inside of the residence when taken.
Deputies and detectives located the stolen ATV and tools on July 26 at a residence in Monroe County. The suspects named by Black are Duane R. Potts, Jr. of Woodsfield and Eric R. Carpenter of Graysville.
"There was two individuals taken into custody for a recent stolen four--wheeler, and I believe it was a few months ago we had another one which our detective went ahead and tracked through social media where it was sold to an individual in Tuscarawas County, which we went to and recovered," Black said.
That ATV had been on Plainview Road before being reported stolen.
Black believes the pair stole the ATVs for the purpose of selling them.
"I know the one in particular was stolen, and it was sold over the internet ... where people go and buy stuff," he said "... These individuals that buy it, they have no idea a lot of times if these items are stolen. It's not like going to a reputable four--wheeler dealer and buying off a four--wheeler dealer. When you're buying off individuals a lot of times you just don't have any idea. There was no wrongdoing on the part of the person that purchased it - they didn't have any knowledge that it was a stolen piece of property."
He added that thefts of four--wheelers are a concern.
"A lot of times we have hunting cabins where individuals don't come down and hunt or don't frequent the area other than every few months, so we might end up getting from that area with deer season coming up, bow season, that something was stolen," Black said.
Potts and Carpenter were indicted by a Monroe County grand jury on Oct. 19 for receiving stolen property. They were arrested Monday. Carpenter was released on a recognizance bond, and Potts was still being housed at the Monroe County Jail on Thursday.
"These are all pending cases, so we really don't want to go too much in--depth with that," Black added.
According to the Monroe County Clerk of Courts Office, Carpenter and Potts were arraigned Tuesday before Common Pleas Judge Julie Selmon; both pleaded innocent. Entries with court dates were not provided Thursday.