JERSEY - The Jersey County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a report of two men near a four-wheeler believed to have run out of gas in the area of Central Road north of State Highway 16 on Wednesday morning, Sept. 6, 2023.
Deputies arrived to find an abandoned Suzuki four-wheeler in the ditch and in a search of the area, they identified Ashley J. Fulmer, 26, walking down the roadway. At the same time, another deputy located a vehicle in the same area and stopped it, Jersey County Sheriff Nick Manns said on Friday.
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“The deputies spoke to Heath E. Blaine, 51, and Hoth were known by the deputies and gave conflicting stories about the four-wheeler and their reasons in the area. Because the four-wheeler was not known to be stolen at this time, Fulmer and Blaine were released pending additional investigation and the four-wheeler was towed.
“As part of their follow-up investigation, the deputies and the JCSO detectives conducted numerous interviews of residents in the area and posted photographs of the four-wheeler on the JCSO Sheriff’s App and Facebook page. Within a couple of hours, the owner of the four-wheeler identified it as stolen, and the public responded with additional valuable leads. Deputies determined two four-wheelers were stolen from the Coon Creek area along the Illinois River.”
The sheriff said extensive additional information determined that Fulmer, Blaine and Schon D. Widman, 27, stole the four-wheelers, placing one in the back of a truck and attempting to ride the other to a residence in Greene County until it ran out of gas. All three were ultimately located on September 7 in Kane and arrested by JCSO deputies, assisted by the Greene County Sheriff’s Office. The second stolen four-wheeler was also recovered.”
Widman, Fulmer and Blaine were each charged by the Jersey County State’s Attorney’s Office with two counts of Unlawful Possession Of a Stolen Vehicle, a Class 2 felony. They remain in the Jersey County Jail.”
Manns said the JCSO wishes to thank the Greene County Sheriff’s Office for its assistance and the investigation continues.
If the public has any additional information on this matter, please contact the Jersey Sheriff’s Office at (618) 498-6881.
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