A 57-year-old man from Rush County, Indiana, was arrested this week on four level-6 felony counts of theft related to missing soybeans and corn from the farm he drove for.
According to reports, Larry Estes worked as a hired hand for a farm where he hauled grain for a family. He had worked off-and-on for the farm for over 15 years. However, on April 5, the Rush County Sheriff’s Office was contacted about a theft of some of the farm’s grain.
Court documents show that the farmer was contacted when his contracted grain supply was short. Fox59 shared that the farmer began suspecting Estes when his son’s wife heard that Estes had allegedly told someone he’d stolen two truckloads of grain and then sold them to a grain depot in Connersville.
When deputies interviewed an employee at Connersville’s grain depot, the employee gave police details to a white truck rig with mud on the left side — one that matched the farmer’s delivery truck.
Indiana State Police arrested Estes. In total, reports indicate that Estes is accused of selling over $47,000 to the Connersville depot on four separate occasions:
- $9,876.33 worth of yellow soybean grain sold on March 23, 2021
- $6,974.32 worth of yellow corn grain sold on February 9, 2022
- $14,341.01 worth of yellow soybean grain sold on January 18, 2023
- $15,855.87 worth of yellow soybean grain sold on February 10, 2023
This isn’t the first time that Estes has had a brush with the law. In 2008, an investigation was launched after Estes used an Indiana DOT gas card to make $794.18 worth of personal fuel purchases.
A hearing is scheduled for May 11, 2023.
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