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Salem man arrested for stealing nearly $17k in equipment

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SALEM, W.Va. – A man was arrested for stealing $16,899 worth of equipment from a job site near Salem.

On Dec. 3, a deputy with the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department responded to 207 Raccoon Run Rd. in Salem for a report of equipment theft from Jennings Excavating. When he arrived on the scene, he spoke with both the property manager and the caller who said that tools has been stolen from a job site the night before. They had followed ATV tracks from the job site on the rails to trails back to the residence on Racoon Run Rd.

The deputy then spoke with Jacob Furner, 36, of Salem, who was standing outside the garage at the residence. He was a resident of the home, according to a criminal complaint.

When asked if he knew anything about the stolen tools, he said he didn’t, and he gave consent for the officer to search the garage. When searching the garage, the deputy found a Generac Generator in the back of a Yamaha ATV that was identified as stolen property from Jennings Excavating.

As the officer detained Furner, the defendant said that someone “dropped the generator off to him night prior,” according to the complaint.

In addition to the generator, officers also found the following items which were identified as stolen property of Jennings Excavating:

The estimated total value of the stolen property was $16,899. All the items were recovered and released to the Jennings Excavating property manager along with a receipt.

Furner was placed in custody for grand larceny.