LOCAL

'Joy ride' damage from stolen construction trucks leads to arrest of six juveniles

The Daily Jeffersonian

Shawn DeVore with the Guernsey County Community Development Corp. (GCCDC) works on replacing the fence posts that were damaged when stolen trucks from NPL Construction tore through the property. Ron Gombeda, GCCDC director, said the fence has been repaired three times in the last eight months, but the most recent was the only one not considered an accident. Ohio State Highway Patrol report that six juveniles have been arrested for the theft of 10 trucks and a trailer. The juveniles were scheduled to appear in court for the first time on Wednesday.

Six local juveniles have been arrested by the Cambridge post of the State Highway Patrol following the theft of 10 trucks, and one trailer early Monday morning from the NPL Construction Company in East Cambridge.

The juveniles reportedly then drove the trucks between Salt Fork State Park and Cambridge, destroying numerous properties and damaging fencing at the trailhead of the Great Guernsey Trail on Corduroy Road owned and maintained by the Guernsey County Community Development Corporation.

"This is the third time that our fences on Corduroy Road have been destroyed from vehicles running through it, although this is the first time it's because of a stolen vehicle," Guernsey County CDC Executive Director Ron Gombeda said. "Although the cost isn't much, around $300 to replace, that is still a lot of money for a nonprofit to spend. We hope restitution will be paid."

Troopers from the Cambridge post were involved in a pursuit with some of the vehicles. All vehicles have been recovered at this time and six juvenile suspects were taken into custody.

Replacement fencing and destroyed grass at the Corduroy Road trailhead of the Great Guernsey Trail. The fencing was run over by juveniles in vehicles stolen from the NPL Construction site in Cambridge.

The juveniles were expected to appear in the Guernsey County Juvenile Court on Wednesday afternoon and the Guernsey County Sheriff’s office is investigating the damage to properties.

NPL Construction in Cambridge had 10 vehicles and a trailer stolen from the property which were then used to cause an estimated $500,000 in damages across Guernsey County.