Arrests made in ATV theft
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Schon D. Widman
Ashley J. Fulmer
Heath E. Blaine
By Cory Davenport
Three arrests were made following a report of an abandoned Suzuki four-wheeler all-terrain vehicle (ATV) last Wednesday, Sept. 6, according to a press release from the Jersey County Sheriff’s Office.
Schon D. Widman, 27, Ashley J. Fulmer, 26, and Heath E. Blaine, 51, were each charged with two counts of Unlawful Possession of a Stolen Vehicle, a Class 2 felony. Deputies discovered the ATV, which had apparently ran out of gas abandoned in a ditch in the area of Central Road north of Highway 16 and found Fulmer walking on the side of the road near where it was discovered. They also found Blaine driving a vehicle in the same area, and conducted a traffic stop. According to the release sent by the sheriff’s office, Blaine and Fulmer were known to deputies and gave officers conflicting accounts in regards to the ATV. At that time, the Suzuki was not reported stolen, so they were released from custody.
Continuing the investigation, the Jersey County Sheriff’s Office posted a picture of the recovered Suzuki four-wheeler on their Facebook page. What were described in the release as “valuable leads” were given to deputies by the public following that post, and it was subsequently identified as a stolen vehicle in a matter of a couple hours. It was allegedly taken from the Coon Creek Road area near the banks of the Illinois River, the release stated.
Upon further investigation, deputies determined Fulmer, Blaine, and Widman stole these ATVs by placing one in the back of a truck and attempting to drive another to a Greene County residence before it ran out of gas. All three were located in Greene County on Sept. 7 and Jersey County Deputies were assisted by the Greene County Sheriff’s Office in making the arrests. The second ATV deputies alleged the trio stole was also recovered.
In text messages following the arrests, Jersey County Sheriff Nicholas Manns said he would not go into details of the investigation regarding how the ATVs were allegedly stolen, but advised Jersey County residents to consider the security of their property.
“We would like for people to please remove the keys from all unattended four-wheelers and ATVs,” he said. “Ideally, they would be kept in locked buildings when the owners are absent. In addition, any type of camera is beneficial to us in these burglaries.”
Sheriff Manns also said people should record the vehicle identification numbers (VINs) of their ATVs and take photographs of them so police can find them and identify them easier if stolen and subsequently recovered by law enforcement.
It is also important to note all charged are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.