Sunday, April 14, 2002
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Sunday, April 14, 2002 |
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Hung jury leads to mistrial in tractor theft ring case By JOHN MUNFORD
A mistrial was declared Wednesday in the trial of a Griffin man accused of participating in a scheme to sell stolen farm equipment in Fayette County. The mistrial was declared by Superior Court Judge Johnnie L. Caldwell Jr. after the jury indicated it could not reach a verdict in the case. Kenneth James Green was on trial for state racketeering charges as District Attorney William McBroom alleged he took part in the operation which involved some of the stolen tractors and other equipment being sold in north Fayette. Several witnesses, including two men who have pled guilty to lesser charges, identified Green as one of the persons who would deliver the stolen equipment, which ranged from John Deere farm tractors to "Gator" utility carts and "Bobcat" skid loaders. Charles Floyd, Green's attorney, argued that the state did not prove Green was involved in the scheme. The stolen equipment was taken from equipment dealers in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina. The equipment was sold in Fayette and Henry counties for thousands of dollars off the retail price, according to detectives from the Fayette County Sheriff's Department who investigated the case. Two of the state's witnesses, Larry Franklin Whitaker of Griffin and Lewis Gilbert Shirley of Fayetteville, pled guilty in October to two counts of conspiracy to commit theft by taking. Shirley was sentenced to five years in prison followed by five years of probation while Whitaker was sentenced to six years in prison followed by four years probation. Shirley admitted to selling some of the equipment from his Fayette business, Fayette Auto Machines. He also admitted that he knew the equipment was stolen and that he stored some of the equipment at Green's request at the business. Green delivered the stolen equipment "about 75 to 80 percent of the time," Shirley said. Whitaker testified that he sold stolen equipment for Green through his former business, Midway Collision Center in Griffin. An Albany police officer also testified how Green's brother, Bobby, was arrested outside a farm equipment dealership there in what authorities believe was an attempt to steal equipment for the ring. Bobby Leon Green and another accomplice were found with keys that would start the equipment and a two-way radio, the officer testified. McBroom alleged that Kenneth Green was driving the vehicle that would carry the equipment, and he left the area as Green and the accomplice were arrested.
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