OLIVE BRANCH, Miss. (WREG) — An investigation of one stolen ATV in Kentucky led police to a large theft ring in Olive Branch that operated in at least four states, authorities said.
Investigators said they located nearly $200,000 dollars worth of ATVs and vehicles stolen from Tennessee, Missouri, Louisiana and Kentucky in the theft bust Monday on Highway 78 in Olive Branch, Mississippi.
Tremaine Foster, 37, of Southaven, Mississippi was charged with nine counts of receiving stolen property, Olive Branch Police said.
This investigation began Monday morning after a resident in Graves County, Kentucky reported that their Polaris ATV and trailer was stolen from their residence.
Graves County Sheriff’s deputies learned that two suspects were responsible after reviewing surveillance video from the victim.
Police said the video showed the suspects attaching the victim’s trailer to their pickup truck and loading the ATV onto it. During the investigation, deputies learned that one of the pieces of equipment stolen was equipped with an electronic tracking device.
The equipment was later tracked in Olive Branch, Mississippi on Monday afternoon, police said.
A search warrant was issued to search a large conglomeration of buildings, most of which were connected, but were separate businesses consisting of automotive repair and body shops, according to a Facebook post from Graves County Sheriff’s Department.
Graves County deputies, along with Olive Branch Police, located nine large ATV’s, each valued at $20,000, including the stolen Polaris from Graves County.
According to Graves County Sheriff’s Department, two automobiles were also recovered that had been stolen in Memphis.
One man was arrested on the scene by Mississippi authorities on numerous counts of Receiving Stolen Property. Between 20 and 25 people were initially detained by authorities.
No one answered the door at Foster’s Southaven home on Wednesday.
This isn’t the first time Foster has been in the news. In February 2020, Foster reported that someone sprayed racist graffiti on a couple of his vehicles.
He was later charged with insurance fraud and tampering with evidence, though Southaven Police didn’t explicitly say Foster was responsible for the graffiti.