A man in Williamson County, Illinois, stole a backhoe from a construction site and drove it 10 miles to a regional airport where he caught a flight, according to authorities.
The man can be seen on surveillance video below released by the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office pulling up the backhoe to Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois, lowering the blade and casually walking to the entrance with a guitar case:
According to the Sheriff’s Office, it learned of the crime May 18 when it got a call about the suspicious backhoe parked at the airport. Soon after, the backhoe’s owner arrived and said it had been parked at a jobsite 20 miles away.
The suspect, Timothy James Baggott, 53, of Carbondale, Illinois, apparently flew to Portland, Oregon. Three days later, he was arrested in Elko County, Nevada, on charges related to possession of a stolen vehicle, and he was released.
The next day, he was again arrested in the same county in the city of Wells on another charge of possession of a stolen vehicle. This time, he was placed in the Elko County jail with bond set at $40,000.
Back in Illinois, the Williamson County State’s Attorney Ted Hampson has issued a warrant for Baggott’s arrest on a charge of felony theft over $10,000. His bond was set at $25,000.
According to an Elko County online jail inmate search May 26, Baggott was still in the jail.
