# Arrests Made In Case Of Stolen Oil Truck



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

_Parts Of Vehicle Found In Massachusetts Junkyard_

*Video: *Arrests Made

*BOSTON -- *It took two years to solve the mystery, but police in New Hampshire and Massachusetts have made arrests in the case of a stolen oil truck.

NewsCenter 5's Mary Saladna reported Tuesday that the fully loaded truck disappeared from an Epping, N.H., oil company in November 2004. Last week, parts of the truck were found in a Chelmsford, Mass., junkyard.

Jerome Stapleford, of Exeter, N.H., was charged with felony theft for a crime police called downright brazen. They said Stapleford made off with the fully loaded 3,000-gallon bright yellow oil truck. It happened on the morning of Nov. 12, 2004, at the Buxton Oil Co.

"We had a lot of people say that they had seen the truck shortly after the theft had been reported. They were followed up, but to no avail," Epping Police Department Chief Gregory Dodge said.

Police said that on a tip on Wednesday led them to the North Chelmsford Auto and Truck Salvage Yard, where they found the Buxton truck in pieces.

"The nose was recovered, as well as the engine and part of the oil pump and the rear end. There are identifying marks on the truck that positively identify it as the truck stolen from the Buxton Oil Co.," Dodge said.

The truck and fuel were valued at about $115,000.

Stapleford was held on $50,000 bail.

Police have also arrested two Massachusetts men -- the owner of the junkyard, Alex Davies, and his employee David Lockett, of Lowell. Both have been charged with receiving stolen property.

_Copyright 2006 by TheBostonChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed._


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