Archived News

Wild ride with a log splitter leads to larceny arrests

Four Asheville residents were arrested after an attempt to steal a logsplitter from Lowe’s in Waynesville drew the attention of an alert citizen.

Something about the scene apparently didn’t sit quite right: a person in the bed of a pickup truck holding on to a chain that was towing a logsplitter along behind them. 

“When trying to make their getaway with the stolen log splitter, the suspects found the log splitter’s trailer attachment did not fit onto the ball hitch they had on their truck, so one of the suspects actually sat in the back of the truck, holding onto the chains that were dragging the log splitter behind them,” said Heidi Warren, public information officer for the Haywood County Sheriff’s Department. 

The “alert citizen” called the Waynesville Police Department and then followed the truck until officers arrived on-scene. Kristy Franklin, 34; Deborah Crowe, 24; Dewey Franklin, 42 and Preston Franklin, 23 were arrested for charges ranging from larceny to possession of stolen property.

Smokey Mountain News Logo
SUPPORT THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS AND
INDEPENDENT, AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
Go to top
Payment Information

/

At our inception 20 years ago, we chose to be different. Unlike other news organizations, we made the decision to provide in-depth, regional reporting free to anyone who wanted access to it. We don’t plan to change that model. Support from our readers will help us maintain and strengthen the editorial independence that is crucial to our mission to help make Western North Carolina a better place to call home. If you are able, please support The Smoky Mountain News.

The Smoky Mountain News is a wholly private corporation. Reader contributions support the journalistic mission of SMN to remain independent. Your support of SMN does not constitute a charitable donation. If you have a question about contributing to SMN, please contact us.