Prairie Grove Police Work To Curtail Construction Thefts

PRAIRIE GROVE — Prairie Grove police are hoping that two arrests made in November for theft from a construction site will help with future problems.

Police have received numerous theft reports from residential builders during the year. Increased patrols and surveillance have been unsuccessful in identifying any persons responsible, said Capt. Jeff O’Brien.

In November, police tried another tactic. They obtained a Dewalt yellow 4.5-gallon air compressor, originally purchased for $350, and asked builder Tom Sims to place it in one of his houses under construction on Benton Street. The compressor was placed in the garage of the house and could be seen from the street.

Police monitored the house and observed it being stolen, O’Brien said.

According to the police report, officers conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle and saw that the air compressor from the house was in the back of the truck.

Police arrested Jeffery Lougee, 46, of Prairie Grove, in connection with theft of property, a misdemeanor, and Joshua Harjo, 35, of Fayetteville, in connection with theft of property, a misdemeanor, and felony possession of a controlled substance.

O’Brien said both men were plumbers working for Pinnacle Plumbing and had been working on a house nearby.

According to the police report, the suspects claimed the air compressor was lying in a “pile of trash.” Lougee stated that he took the item believing it to be discarded trash.

The report says construction materials, small boxes and trim pieces were in the garage along with the air compressor. Some of the items could be argued as trash but most of the items were materials used in construction of the house.

Sims told police the suspects did not have permission to take anything from the site and were not supposed to be working at that particular construction site.

After making the two arrests on Nov. 20, police placed the same air compressor and other items at multiple construction sites to see if they could make any more arrests.

“Since we’ve arrested those two, nothing else has been taken,” O’Brien said. “We’ve tried for a month and nothing disappeared, which is good. We left out some good stuff, too.” Items stolen from construction sites during 2017 include front and back doors, appliances, tools, lumber, framing nails, shower tiles, hot water heater, ceramic kitchen sink and compressors.

Reports came from multiple subdivisions: Sundowner, Prairie Meadows, Bell Meade and Battlefield Estates. Items also were missing from duplexes under construction.

Lougee

Harjo