Fayette County Image - Det. David Gunter (left) , Fayette County Sheriff’s Offi ce, Georgia, IAATI President Chris McDonold (center) , Det. Aaron Fenimore (Right) , Fayette County Sheriff’s Offi ce, Georgia: McDonold presents award to both Fayette County Detectives

There were two groups of winners of the AGC Heavy Equipment Award this year in Atlantic City.

WINNER NO. 1 The first award presentation went to Detectives David Gunter and Aaron Fenimore of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Offi ce along with Special Agent David Renaud of the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

On Tuesday, May 18, 2010, Captain Tom Elrod (Chief Pilot) and Captain Greg Craft (Aviation Unit Commander) lifted off for general patrol in the Fayette County (GA) Sheriff’s Offi ce helicopter known as Hawk One. As soon as they were airborne they received a LoJack signal and began tracking in the direction of the signal. They contacted dispatch for verifi cation of the LoJack code, which came back to a Caterpillar D8 dozer reported stolen that same date from adjoining Spalding County, GA.

Hawk One tracked the LoJack signal to a location on Morgans Mill Road in South Fayette County. It was diffi cult to determine which piece of heavy equipment the signal was emitting from since the area was wooded and there were several pieces of heavy equipment spread out over approximately fi ve acres. Hawk One continued to orbit the area until uniform patrol deputies could arrive. Deputies detained four suspects at the 1994 Caterpillar D8 dozer stolen from Spalding County earlier that day. These suspects had already removed the blade from the dozer and were using a cutting torch to remove the front of the D8 dozer when spotted by Fayette County Sheriff’s Offi ce helicopter, Hawk One.

Det. David Gunter responded to the scene to investigate. Once at the scene Detective Gunter discovered the property was over fi ve acres and contained numerous units of heavy equipment, whole and in parts. Detective Gunter identifi ed a second piece of heavy equipment a Caterpillar 953C track loader that had been reported stolen from Henry County, Georgia on May 13, 2010. The identity of the second stolen unit led Detective Gunter to seal off the property until a search warrant could be obtained. The four suspects were arrested at the scene.

The following day, with search warrant in hand, Detectives David Gunter, Aaron Fenimore and. Sgt. Keith Whiteside (Fayette County Sheriff’s Offi ce) arrived on scene and began their search. They were assisted by Bill Burris from LoJack, Special Agent David Renaud from the National Insurance Crime Bureau and Dan Peter from Yancey Brothers Caterpillar.

Heavy equipment in varying stages of dismantlement was scattered over fi ve acres of wooded property. There were numerous cabs, buckets, blades, tracks, engines, radiators and other parts that had been removed from machines. Unlike passenger vehicle chop shops, the massive size and weight of each piece of heavy equipment part created unique challenges when it came to identifi cation. Investigators and support personnel worked tirelessly to try and identify each part they discovered and link that particular part back to the donor machine. Det. Gunter and Det. Fenimore spent a total of ten (10) days executing this search warrant trying to identify hundreds of parts to their respective stolen piece of equipment. At the conclusion of the search warrant Detective Gunter and Fenimore, along with Special Agent Renaud had identi- fi ed and recovered a total of nineteen (19) pieces of stolen equipment and vehicles valued at $ 2,192,500.00.

In all, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Offi ce had more than fi ve-hundred man hours just on the site of the search warrant related to detectives, crime scene investigators and deputies who worked to secure and recover all of the property.

Detectives Gunter and Fenimore made seven arrests in this case charging those arrested with Operating a Chop Shop and additional counts of Theft by Receiving. The case is being prosecuted as a Racketeering case.

The vehicles and equipment were reported stolen were from nineteen (19) different counties within the State of Georgia.

The winners’ dedication to duty, determination, stamina and desire to solve crime was apparent in the hundreds of hours spent on this investigation. The quick response by the pilots of Fayette County Sheriff Offi ce’s helicopter, Hawk One, to a LoJack activation signal led to the uncovering of an organized theft ring the likes of which were unseen by this region until now. The countless days spent by Detectives Gunter and Fenimore, along with Special Agent Renaud searching, recovering, and identifying piece after piece of equipment parts proved successful and resulted in multiple arrest and the dismantlement of a major criminal enterprise. The citizens of Fayette County Georgia should be proud of those who serve and protect them for they are safer thanks to their efforts.

In addition to the three winners of this award, there are many more who provided assistance and worked tirelessly during this investigation. It is estimated that as many as thirty personnel from the Fayette County Sheriff’s Offi ce were involved with this investigation at one point or another.

Nomination submitted by D.T. “Rusty” Russell, Director of Vehicle Investigations NICB