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DeKalb County authorities arrest 6 men on 22 theft charges

By Barbara Czura – bio | email

FORT PAYNE, AL (WAFF) - Six people suspected of stealing ATV's in three states now face charges.

Four ATV's shown to WAFF 48 News are just a few that have been stolen over the past few months. Some came from Alabama, while others were taken in Georgia and Tennessee.

DeKalb County Sheriff's Commander Wade Hill says ATV theft is common.

"Unfortunately, it's one of the easiest things stolen in this county," Hill said. "A lot of these have keys in them, a lot of them have ignitions that don't require a key. And most of these people know how to start one quickly. They are left unattended."

DeKalb County sheriff's investigators and Ft. Payne police said six people are to blame: David Mark Tanner, 26, of Sylvania, Gary Dejuan Higdon, 22, of Valley Head,  Corey Don Robbins, 20, of Rainsville, Jimmy Ray Walker, 27, of Sylvania, Jamie Ray Bates, 23, of Sylvania, and Christopher Allen Guinn, 22, of Fort Payne.

Investigators said the suspects are friends and all of them men in their 20's. They face a total of 22 charges.

"They all knew each other, had been in jail together, some of them related to one another," Hill said. "And one of the unfortunate things about these guys are some were actually stealing from family members."

DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris said the men were stealing to feed their drug addictions.

"Probably everyone of them were stealing it to sell or to trade for meth," Harris said.

Ft. Payne Police Commissioner Ron Ogletree agreed, saying, "Apparently becomes an addiction to them. In their mind it's an easy way to make a living."

Investigators said additional ATV's were targeted but were abandoned because they were heavily secured or chained, so it's important to secure the property.

Investigators are returning the stolen items to their owners. Ogletree said as far as the suspects, the majority are still behind bars.

"God tells us he's going to provide for our needs, and he's certainly going to provide for their needs, courtesy of the DeKalb County Sheriff's Detention Center," he said.

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