Fulton man charged for allegedly stealing a MoDOT truck, equipment from building
FULTON, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Fulton man is charged with multiple counts of theft after an incident in June of this year.
According to the probable cause statement, a Missouri State Highway Patrol Master Sergeant found a MoDOT shed that was burglarized in Fulton on the evening of June 24, 2020.
Court documents reveal, over $13,000 dollars of equipment were stolen from the sthed including a pickup.
Officials report the truck was found hours later on Callaway County Road 217 near the Route KK intersection.
On August 26, a landlord gave a tip of the possible stolen items according to court documents.
Five days after that tip, criminal investigators from Troop B talked with the Master Sergeant about James Rickard allegedly admitting to stealing the items in online messages according to court documents.
Those messages were from a seperate investigations that Rickard had sent pictures of the stolen items to another person.
On Sept. 17, the Master Sergeant got into contact with Rickard. According to the probable cause statement, Rickard denied stealing the items until the online messages were shown to him.
Rickard later admitted to being drunk one night and breaking into the MoDOT building by pushing an air conditioner into the building.
Troopers were able to recover over $12,000 worth of the stolen items.
Rickard is charged with three counts of stealing - $750 or more, one count of tampering with a motor vehicle and 2nd degree burglary.
