EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- One of two men expected to face charges for stealing railroad equipment told police "no one told him he couldn't" take it for scrap metal, according to police documents.
Dennis Lane, 64, was booked into the Vanderburgh County Jail on preliminary charges of theft and trespass, according to the Evansville Courier & Press.
Police asked that a court summons with the same charges be issued for the other man, 58-year-old James A. Heck. He was released "due to severe medical problems," according to an Evansville Police Department probable cause affidavit.
A passerby spotted two men loading equipment shortly before 2 this morning at the CSX yard located at 2710 Dixie Flyer Road.
As an officer arrived to investigate that report, a pickup weighted down with rail equipment was pulling out of the lot, which is posted with "no trespassing" signs.
Authorities pulled the truck over a short time later and began questioning the men.
"Officer asked the driver, suspect James A. Heck, what they were doing with all of the CSX property," police wrote in the affidavit. "Heck stated that they were collecting scrap metal. They were then asked if they had permission to take the property. Neither suspect Heck or defendant Lane, the owner of the truck, responded."
The officer then repeated the question.
"Lane stated that he has taken the property before and that no one told him he couldn't," police wrote.
A representative from CSX identified the property as switch plates and rods which are "very expensive to replace," according to the affidavit.
Lane is due in court today. Heck's court date was not immediately available.
(The preceding article by Gavin Lesnick was published December 7, 2009, by the Evansville Courier & Press.)
