Two men, one affiliated with a car dealership in Kane, have been charged in relation to possessing a trailer and mini excavator that were allegedly taken from a South Carolina business.
Kenneth Eli Zook, 42, of 6876 Highland Road, Kane, and Richard Lloyd Linville, 26, of Reidsville, N.C., were both charged by the state police auto theft unit with receiving stolen property and conspiracy to receive stolen property, third-degree felonies.
According to criminal complaints, on June 17, 2016, at 4 a.m., someone took a double-axle trailer and a mini excavator from the parking lot of the Home Depot in Rock Hill, S.C. The theft was discovered and reported on June 28, 2016.
The mini excavator was equipped with a GPS, and Rock Hill police contacted Kane-based state police to locate and recover it, as its GPS coordinates indicated it was at or near 6878 Highland Road in Kane, the complaints read. Troopers went to that location and found the excavator sitting behind a shed on property that they determined to be owned by Zook. Police contacted him, and he said he took the excavator to his house “as it was on a vacant lot near his dealership, Zook Motors,” the criminal complaints stated.
Zook told police he was unaware of who owned it, but said he needed it to do some work at his house so he borrowed it without telling anyone. He took the troopers to a vacant lot near the dealership and showed them the trailer, which was identified as the one stolen from South Carolina, the complaints stated.
Police returned to Zook’s house, where they were able to identify the excavator as the one taken from South Carolina. He told police “he knew that the machine was stolen, especially once he saw the screwdriver having to be used to start the ignition,” the complaints read.
Kane-based state police contacted the state police auto theft unit. Trooper Michael Pisarchick investigated. He interviewed Zook, who allegedly admitted to receiving the excavator and trailer from Linville, who he had dealt with before in the auto business.
Zook told police he traded Linville a Ford Flex vehicle for payment on the machine, the complaints allege.
Police were able to locate video footage of Linville stopping at a gas station in Altoona, driving a truck pulling the trailer and excavator, the complaints allege.
The time frame in which the investigation took place wasn’t immediately clear.
Neither man has been arraigned on the charges. Online court dockets indicate the state attorney general’s office filed the complaints in District Judge David Engman’s Kane office on Friday.
Zook’s preliminary arraignment is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday, while Linville’s has yet to be scheduled.
