KIRKSVILLE, MO. -- Two Kirksville men are charged after authorities allege they cashed-in at a recycling center with stolen lawn mowers. The two each face felony charges of Theft/Stealing (value of property or services is $500 or more but less than $25,000) and Receiving Stolen Property. The two, Mark Allen Clark, 34 and Jesse C. Gawlik, 32, were arrested Thursday at Country Club Drive in Kirksville.
The men are accused of stealing a homemade trailer and two lawn mowers worth nearly $7,000 Monday from the parking lot of Wendy's Hamburgers on North Baltimore Street in Kirksville. Police say they received information that Gawlik sold one of the lawn mowers to D&D Recycling in Brashear. Police obtained video shot from security cameras at Custom Muffler, the business just north of the restaurant. Police say it showed a man helping the driver of a truck hook onto the trailer and both men leave in the truck.
And according to a probable cause statement from the Adair County Sheriff's Office, Clark and Gawlik are also accused of selling a John Deere riding lawn mower that belonged to someone else to D&D Recycling. That alleged transaction resulted in the charge of Receiving Stolen Property.
Bond for each man was set at $25,000.
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Original story:
On Tuesday, staff of D and D Recycling in Brashear contacted the Adair County Sheriff's Office after they received lawn mowers they believed may have been stolen. And the staff identified two men who offered the lawn mowers for recycling.
Thursday, Sheriff's Office personnel were in the process of verifying that the mowers were indeed stolen, when authorities were notified the two men had returned to the recycling facility. Sheriff's Office personnel responded and stopped the suspects in Kirksville, with the assistance of the Kirksville Police Department.
During an investigation by both agencies, it was determined the mowers were stolen. Authorities say one mower was taken from a location in Adair County and the other was stolen in Kirksville.
Both men were taken to the Adair County Detention Center on 24-hour holds pending formal charges.
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