Crime & Safety

Two Men Arrested At Oconee County Middle School on Charges Related to Theft of ATV

The theft reportedly occurred at a Bishop shop overnight Wednesday to Thursday. An arrest does not mean a conviction.

Updated 3:03 p.m.

Two men were arrested on the campus of Oconee County Middle School Thursday in connection with the overnight theft of an ATV from Crossroads Consignments, located on Macon Highway in Bishop.

Around 7 a.m., a woman called authorities to report having seen some individuals loading an ATV into the bed of a pickup truck in the 1200 block area of Salem Road. 

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An investigation led deputies to an address in the 1100 block where they found the ATV, said Sgt. Jason Higgins of the Oconee County Sheriff's Office. Yellow plastic had been removed and replaced with red plastic from a different, broken ATV also on the property, he said.  A fire burning on the property contained a piece of metal from the stolen ATV and led deputies to believe the yellow plastic was burned in the pile, he said. 

The investigation next led deputies to OCMS, where two suspects were working, according to an incident report, and they were placed into "investigative detention." Further investigation determined the ATV had been taken sometime overnight from Crossroads Consignments, and the men were arrested, the report noted.

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Dr. Brook Whitmire, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources for Oconee County Schools, said the men are not employed by the school system.  One of the men, the son of an OCMS employee, was working on a small landscaping project after school Wednesday, Whitmire explained.  The man had returned Thursday, accompanied by a friend, to finish the job, he said.

Marcus A. Eidson, 22, of Old Bishop Road in Bishop, and Christopher L. Dorsey, 19, of Old Salem Road in Farmington, were  charged with theft by taking of a motor vehicle. Investigators have also obtained warrants on charges of criminal damage to property and arson in the third degree for the burning of the plastic. As of noon Friday, both men remained behind bars at the Oconee County Jail.

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