STOLEN PROPERTY RECOVERED

ELLIS COUNTY – The Ellis County Sheriff’s Department recovered over a quarter of a million dollars in stolen property last week.

The stolen property was recovered thanks to a local resident’s tip. 

The Ellis County Criminal Investigations Division followed up on the tip, which led to a suspicious vehicle pulling an unmarked trailer with no license plate. This trailer was believed to be involved in an early morning burglary of a home under construction on Jan. 14.

The tip led Ellis County investigators to Avalon, Texas. 

The driver of the unmarked trailer met with Ellis County Sheriff’s Department Investigators and Ellis County Patrol Deputies and noticed the trailer’s vehicle identification number – the VIN sticker - had intentionally been tampered with and altered. 

When investigators saw the missing VIN sticker number they asked the Texas Department of Public Safety, Criminal Investigation Agents to get involved. Criminal Investigators from DPS were requested to help them determine proper ownership of the unmarked trailer.   

It was at this time during the investigation investigators also found a number of additional pieces of construction equipment. 

The serial numbers from these vehicles were entered into the system, and it was found several pieces of the equipment had also been reported stolen too. 

These articles included a Takeuchi skid steer, Sunbelt generator, Bobcat skid steer, a Mack truck-tractor and a Ford F-250 super-duty. All had been reported stolen by Dallas Police. 

Joe Fitzgerald, Ellis County Sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division, Public Information Officer said no one had been arrested or charged in regard to the stolen property, and the case is still under investigation. 

Fitzgerald said the department would like to commend the Ellis County citizen for alerting the Sheriff’s Office about the suspicious activity they witnessed, and he thanked the Texas Department of Public Safety, Criminal Investigation Agents for their assistance.