Man Accused of Trying to Sell Stolen Air Pumps Back to Victimized Business

Watkinsville officers say they arrested an Athens man on July 11 after he attempted to sell stolen air pumps back to the business from which they were stolen.

of Watkinsville reported six Gillian personal air pumps, valued at $4000, had been taken from a job site off of Lexington Road in Athens, Police Chief Lee O'Dillon said in a news release.  A man later called the company and offered to sell the stolen pumps back for $50 each, he said.

The company agreed to buy the air pumps, O'Dillon reported, and the man drove to Watkinsville to collect the money, where police were waiting to recover the air pumps and arrest him.

, 38, was charged with felony theft by receiving stolen property.

O'Dillon also recapped some of the other incidents that police responded to during the week ending on July 15:

• At 1:50 p.m. Monday, July 9 police were called to Experiment Station Road near the Watkinsville Post Office after a 2003 Ford F-250 was hit from behind by an eastbound 2000 Jeep Cherokee. Neither driver was injured. An 18-year-old Watkinsville man was charged with following too closely.

• There was a near tragedy on South Main Street on Monday, July 9. A 5-year-old boy was attempting to cross the highway on a bicycle at 4:48 p.m. His grandparents were walking on the sidewalk a short distance away. An older model gray Ford pickup truck, traveling south on Main Street, clipped the front tire of the bike, knocking the child to the ground and flipping the bike. The truck did not stop, and the driver may not have realized that contact was made. The child suffered some scratches and bruises but was not seriously injured. The grandparents were not able to get a complete description of the truck or the driver.

• Police were called to McRee Street Tuesday, July 10 at 2:10 p.m. after a 2000 Ford F-250 and a 2008 Ford F-150 sideswiped each other. The two trucks met at a narrow section of the road smashing both drivers side mirrors. No one was injured.

• At 10:05 Saturday morning, July 14, a 2010 Nissan Armada backed into a parked 2007 Pontiac G-6 on Felton Drive. No one was injured and only minor damage was reported.

Watkinsville police responded to a total of 36 calls within city limits between July 9 and July 15.  

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