Citizen chases down criminals, foils burglaries

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, August 14, 2002

Early Tuesday morning, local resident Ray Hogg suddenly awoke to the sound of a vehicle blaring down Keith Way.

The noise was loud, and it sounded like a truck &045;&045; a truck that possibly belonged to one of his neighbors.

Being awoken, Hogg decided to see what disturbed his sleep so early in the morning. Clad only in his jockey shorts, he opened the door leading to his garage and stepped outside.

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That, he said, is when he saw the unexpected.

On most mornings, Hogg walks into his garage and sees a four-wheeler. Tuesday, the ATV was gone. That’s when he determined more than just a truck had passed through the neighborhood.

As he walked out of his garage, Hogg saw his four wheeler sitting on a trailer attached to a truck &045;&045; and someone was behind the wheel of the truck preparing to cash in on the new four-wheeler.

Despite the possibility of danger, Hogg said he wasn’t about to see his ATV disappear without a fight.

Hogg, screaming, chased the truck down Keith Way.

The four-wheeler fell from the trailer, crashing near a house across the street from Hogg’s home.

He briefly chased the vehicle, which ran into a dead end.

With sparks flying from the trailer, which dragged along the ground behind the truck, Hogg said the vehicle then turned around and began coming back the other way, possibly attempting to run over him.

Hogg moved out of the way and then went into the house to get his gun. Police were then contacted.

After Hogg returned outside, the truck and its trailer were gone.

After returning to the house,

Hogg said he was later contacted by police, who told him that a vehicle containing some stolen four-wheelers had been found in the Castlewood subdivision, close to where Hogg lives.

Hogg drove to Castlewood; but to his surprise, the abandoned vehicle that contained the four-wheelers was not the same vehicle Hogg saw earlier that morning.

Instead, he said, the stolen truck belonged to Crosby Electric, a company in Montgomery.

Hogg returned to his house. He then saw a van drive by &045;&045; a van that belonged to a neighbor who lived on the same street.

Hogg said he then decided to drive out to Castlewood once again later that morning.

He found several police vehicles parked at friend Jerry Ellison’s house.

As Hogg approached the house, he saw something that amazed him even further. The same vehicle, which he chased earlier that morning, was parked in Ellison’s driveway.

Hogg said police informed him that someone had stolen Ellison’s vehicle, along with a four-wheeler and other equipment belonging to Ellison.

They had apparently then returned the vehicle back to Ellison’s house, leaving it in the driveway.

Hogg then received another unexpected surprise.

The van that Hogg saw earlier that morning &045;&045; a van Hogg thought was being driven by his neighbor, Blackmon &045;&045; was also reported stolen.

Altogether, police reported that the suspects, after hitting several houses, had managed to steal the van and one four-wheeler that morning.

Selma Police spokesman Lt. David Evans said police had some leads on the case,and are currently searching for suspects.

Despite the utter confusion, Hogg praised the police department for their quick response.