Steven Ray LeviThree people have been arrested in the Saturday theft of several storage units at the back of a building on APD-40 in Bradley County, according to the Bradley County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies arrived in response to a report of a suspicious person and found a man sitting inside a vehicle parked near the storage units, along with another man and woman standing nearby. Two of the men fled and continued to run after being told by the deputies to stop, according to a news release.
Officers found a large plastic tote near the building filled with tools determined to have been taken from about five storage units that had been vandalized and broken into. Several tools, chainsaws and other equipment were found in the back of the suspects' vehicle, the news release said.
Jason PaynePolice found the suspects hiding nearby. Steven Ray Levi, Jason Payne and Vera Cheek were arrested. Both Levi and Payne were found with burglary tools in their pockets at the time of their arrests, the release said.
Payne was taken to a local hospital for medical evaluation. The stolen property has since been returned to the victims.
Levi, Payne and Cheek were all charged with public intoxication, theft over $1,000, possession of burglary tools, vandalism, aggravated criminal trespass and five counts of burglary, according to the release. Payne and Cheek were also charged with resisting arrest.
- Compiled by Kim Sebring
Vera Cheek