Police: Man arrested driving stolen U-Haul admits to mower theft, is suspect in Indiana thefts

ajc.com

Last Friday, Preble County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested a man on suspicion of driving a stolen pickup truck and stealing a lawn mower, after police said they found him driving a stolen U-Haul truck.

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Ricky J. Maddox, Jr., 33, now faces charges of receiving stolen property, grand theft of a motor vehicle and failure to comply with police orders.

According to a press release, a deputy tried to stop the stolen truck after it left a house on Swisher Mill Road in Monroe Township. Police said that they already knew who the suspect was and that he was driving.

Police said that Maddox then fled from deputies before returning to the house on Swisher Mill Road and running inside.

Maddox eventually came out of the house and was arrested, the release said.

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After he was arrested, police said, Maddox also admitted to stealing a zero-turn lawn mower in late April from Bane-Welker Equipment, a farming-equipment dealer with one location east of Eaton.

Police added that Maddox is also a suspect of similar crimes in Wayne County, Indiana, and has a criminal history in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Florida.

Maddox remains in the Preble County Jail.

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