Houston County Sheriff Andy Hughes said deputies arrested Charles Jackson Osborne, 49, of East Saunders Road, and charged him with four felony counts of first-degree theft of property.
“He was working as a repo man, and it was their truck he was using to steal cars,” Hughes said. “We did obtain a confession, and the location of where the cars were taken.”
Hughes said Osborne was taking the stolen cars to Geneva County where he’d sold them at a scrap metal yard. Hughes said they found all four vehicles.
Deputies arrested Osborne Wednesday morning after he crashed the wrecker in the woods at the dead end of Willie Varnum Road near State Line Road. He apparently ran into the woods after the crash, and was later arrested by Cottonwood Police as he walked on State Line Road around 9 a.m. Cottonwood Rescue took him to a local hospital for treatment to the cuts he’d suffered in the crash.
“He was attempting to take another one (vehicle) when the owner caught him,” Hughes said. “A potential victim, somebody he was targeting, tried to chase him down, that’s when he wrecked.”
Hughes said Alabama State Troopers responded to the crash scene, and later charged Osborne with misdemeanor leaving the scene of an accident. Hughes said the tow truck was likely totalled, and deputies found evidence of alcohol inside the truck.
The investigation also revealed evidence that Osborne had taken a fifth vehicle, a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am, from Donalsonville, Ga. Hughes said Osborne could face more charges in the ongoing investigation.
Hughes said deputies with the Geneva County Sheriff’s Office, along with state troopers, assisted in the investigation and arrest of Osborne.
Osborne was taken to the Houston County Jail and held on a $20,000 bond. If convicted of the class B felony crimes he faces two to 20 years in prison.
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