McCracken County Sheriff’s Office Makes Two Arrests in Recent Vehicle Theft Investigation | News

MCCRACKEN COUNTY, KY – The McCracken County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a series of vehicle thefts around Paducah early Tuesday morning.

According to a press release from MCSO, officers noticed a suspicious vehicle near Lakeview Drive in Lone Oak around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. The vehicle allegedly attempted to evade officers but almost immediately crashed on Milton Drive.

According to MCSO, three men got out of the vehicle and began running. Officers immediately set up a perimeter to search for the three men.

One of the officers on scene said the steering column of the crashed vehicle was knocked out and the ignition was missing. MCSO says this is a classic sign of a stolen vehicle.

As additional officers responded to the scene, two additional vehicles were seen in an empty parking lot on Lakeview Drive with their lights on. When officers examined the two vehicles, they discovered that the steering columns of both vehicles had also been knocked out and the ignitions had been removed. Both also reportedly had broken windows.

During their investigation, MCSO determined that two of the vehicles were allegedly stolen from Irvin Cobb Drive on Paducah’s Southside and the third vehicle was allegedly stolen from a home on Denver Avenue in Lone Oak.

Officers worked with Paducah police to continue the search for the three people who fled the crashed vehicle. Around 5 a.m., K-9 Officer Oscar picked up the trail of one of the men. K-9 Oscar tracked the man to a wooded area on Milton Drive where he was arrested and transported to the McCracken County Sheriff’s Office.

At approximately 5:45 a.m., officers received a report of another stolen vehicle from a home on Milton Drive. The vehicle was reportedly stolen in the area where the three men were fleeing the original crashed vehicle. The victim had the alleged theft videotaped.

According to MCSO, investigators recognized the person in the video as a male juvenile from the Farley area of ​​McCracken County. Officers responded to the Farley area and located the allegedly stolen vehicle in a grassy driveway on Husbands Road.

Officers reportedly found the teen at his home and he was taken into custody without incident.

The third suspect in the case has also been identified as a juvenile and efforts are underway to locate him.

The first juvenile found by K-9 Oscar was charged with three counts of theft of property valued at more than $1,000, engaging in organized crime, second-degree fleeing or evading police, first-degree criminal mischief and illegal theft of a firearm to be accused.

The second juvenile found in his home was charged with three counts: theft of more than $1,000, engaging in organized crime, second-degree fleeing or evading police, first-degree criminal mischief and theft by unlawful taking more than $10,000.

Both juveniles were being held at the McCracken County Regional Juvenile Detention Center.