Two caught with stolen A/C parts

Published 2:24 pm Friday, May 27, 2011

Two men were arrested in Covington County earlier this week after parts from several air conditioning units in Dozier went missing.

Dozier Police Chief Terry Mears said that several air conditioning units had been stolen from the old sewing factory in April, and since then, the area had been under close surveillance.

“I got some grant money from ADECA to get some surveillance equipment, and on Tuesday, we took it down to look at it,” Mears said. “Unfortunately, that night, two units came up missing, and two more units were cut but not taken.”

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Mears said that the alleged thieves came back during the day Wednesday, and during a routine check, Mears noticed that the units were missing.

“I called a ‘be on the lookout’ for Crenshaw, and Deputy Ken Harris from Covington County called one out for Covington,” he said.

The Andalusia Star-News reports that about 3:30 p.m., the Covington County Sheriff’s Department arrested Tifton D. Hartley, 32, and Billy Ray Weaver, 59, just north of the Andalusia city limits after deputies noticed air conditioner parts hanging out of the truck’s windows.

“Back in April when the first units were stolen, I recorded all the serial numbers of the remaining units, and three of those numbers matched those found in the back of that truck,” Mears said.

Both men were arrested, charged with first-degree receiving stolen property, and booked into the Covington County jail.

Covington County Sheriff Dennis Meeks told the Andalusia Star-News that Weaver was also charged with violation of parole.