March 24, 2021
By: Dwayne Page
A 42 year old man is facing a burglary/theft charge after he stole a 2006 Dodge Ram pickup truck belonging to the City of Smithville Fire Department Tuesday morning.
Mark Beall drove off in the truck which was parked at the fire station downtown. Beall was later pulled over in the truck and arrested in McMinnville.
The truck was easy to spot as it is decaled “Smithville Fire Rescue” on both sides. Equipment was mounted on the pickup and it had $2,000 worth of extrication tools in the back of the truck.
A report filed by Smithville Police Officer Travis Bryant states that “On Tuesday, March 23 at approximately 6:59 am I received a call from (Fire Chief) Charlie Parker and was asked if the 2006 Dodge Ram fire truck was in the fire department bay. I walked next door and observed the bay door open and the side door to the fire hall open. I notified Charlie Parker that the truck was missing and immediately issued a “Be on the lookout” or BOLO with central dispatch for a stolen truck.
Charlie stated that he received a call from one of his firemen that had seen the truck on Keltonburg Road, A short time later he (Beall) was stopped in the vehicle by McMinnville Police and Warren County Sheriff’s Department officers. The truck with mounted equipment was valued at $8,000 and there was approximately $2,000 worth of extrication equipment in the back of the truck. The truck and equipment were recovered ” the report stated.
Officer Bryant further stated in his report that “During the course of the investigation, camera footage was recovered which showed the outside of the City Hall/ Smithville Police Department building for several hours. During that time he (Beall) was observed looking in windows and possibly tampering with a police car. Camera footage recovered shows him (Beall) outside from around 11:00 p.m. until about shift change at 6:00 a.m. When an officer pulled up he (Beall) is seen going around the rear of the building to avoid police. It was a short time later that the truck was observed on Keltonburg Road,” the report concluded.