Booze Bandits indicted

Voice Staff Report
editor@tmcvoice.com

Booze Bandits James Murphy and Jack Roberts were indicted in the regular June Grand Jury session. Both men are charged with receiving stolen property of a value over $500 for knowingly and unlawfully receiving and possessing a tractor trailer and cases of whiskey which had been stolen from B & Z Logistics of St. Louis, Missouri and Roberts Persistent Felony Offender. On February 22, 2020 the Sheriff’s Department was alerted to a stolen tractor-trailer loaded with alcohol at the location of D.H. Campbell’s lot in Pine Knot. The owner, B&Z Logistics, was able to ping the vehicle using GPS tracking and give the Sheriff the location. The trailer was found still attached to the cab.
The trailer’s markings, license plate and registration, were painted over with red paint with the paint and roller found inside the cab of the vehicle. Security camera footage showed the truck pulling into the lot and parking. The driver of the semi was met by a second individual, who unloaded some of the inventory from the trailer into a second vehicle and drove off, only to return a short time later and picked up the driver of the semi and left the area. Both the trailer and cab were impounded by the Sheriff. The trailer, valued at $30,000, with more than $100,000 of cargo, was recovered by the distribution center.
Sheriff Waters announced early March he had identified a suspect in the case after examining security camera footage and tracking down the owner of the vehicle seen meeting with the driver of the semi. The Sheriff spoke with the individual, who reportedly admitted his role in the theft, and potentially identified a second suspect in the case. Working with a Detective from Missouri on the case in that state, Waters presented evidence to the Grand Jury.
The Voice would like to remind our readers that an indictment is not an indication of one’s guilt or innocence, but represents that enough evidence exists in a case to pursue the matter in a court of law.