When Washington Township Police Chief Scott Slagle went on the hunt for a 30-ton log splitter that had been reported stolen, he was surprised to find it this month sitting in the driveway of a Spring Hill Road home.
Now, investigators are trying to figure out the origin of dozens of other potentially stolen items seized from the house, he said.
“We still have a lot of things we can’t track down,” he said.
Jesse Tyler Noble, 25, was arrested Friday and charged with several counts of theft and receiving stolen property. He is accused of taking the log splitter from a Tractor Supply store in Gibsonia, a compressor trailer from Murrysville, a utility trailer from the Murrysville Tractor Supply and equipment from a construction site in Upper Burrell.
Police said the items are valued at $26,000.
Northern Regional Police contacted Washington Township authorities on Oct. 12 and requested a check on Noble’s home after surveillance images showed a vehicle registered to him pulling away with the log splitter, according to court papers. After Slagle said he found the item, he spotted a new utility trailer that had been reported stolen in Murrysville.
Investigators said 17 items, including jack hammers, welding equipment and other tools, marked Kukurin found at the house had been taken from a job site in Upper Burrell. A search warrant revealed more equipment believed to have been stolen and police said they seized 51 items.
Many of them appear to be new and police are seeking information from other area departments about similar theft cases, Slagle said. The department can be reached at 724-727-3410.
Defense attorney Ryan Tutera declined to comment. Noble is free on $100,000 unsecured bail.
