GREENFIELD — Police found several stolen trailers and landscaping equipment on a property in McCordsville. Now, the man who reportedly owned the lawn care company that used the equipment faces more than a dozen criminal charges related to theft and forgery.
The items were valued at, collectively, nearly $65,000.
Tyrone Murphy, of the 10000 block of Tennison Drive, Indianapolis, was booked into the Hancock County Jail this week. He has pleaded not guilty to 19 criminal counts — 16 felonies and three misdemeanors — that prosecutors filed against him this month. He has since posted $10,000 cash bond.
Murphy was storing trailers, a truck, a tractor and a couple lawn mowers at a friend’s home in McCordsville. The items had all been reported stolen from various places around central Indiana, and the identification numbers had been scratched off, according to police.
Murphy told investigators he’d purchased the items legally and didn’t know they’d been reported stolen. When detectives asked Murphy for paperwork, he provided them with false documents, impeding their investigation, according to court documents.
Murphy faces: one Level 5 felony count of corrupt business influence; one Level 5 felony count of auto theft; seven Level 6 felony counts of theft; one Level 6 felony count of obstruction of justice; three Level 6 felony counts of dealing in altered property; three Level 6 felony counts of forgery; and three Class A misdemeanor counts of receiving unidentified property.
Deputies with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department first began investigating Murphy in September.
A man driving near the home in McCordsville where Murphy was keeping his lawn care equipment spotted a trailer that looked similar to one he’d reported stolen last year, according to court documents.
The trailer had distinctive metal plating and lights the man recognized, he said. When he approached the trailer to check its identification number, the digits that were still visible (most of it had been scratched away) matched the ones from his records, he told police.
The man showed deputies photos of his stolen trailer, and they agreed it was the same one, according to court documents.
As part of their investigation and with the homeowner’s permission, deputies and detectives checked some of the other trucks, trailers and equipment parked on the property.
They discovered: a John Deere tractor valued at $36,000 that was reported stolen in Marion County; a Sure Trac trailer valued at $6,000 that was reported stolen in Hamilton County; a Heartland trailer valued at $3,795 that was reported stolen in Hancock County; two Skag mowers valued at $8,500 that were reported stolen in Marion County; and a Ford pickup truck valued at more than $10,000 that was reported stolen in Johnson County.
These items were confiscated by police. Other items were left because detectives could not verify the serial number or VIN, court document state.
The homeowner told investigators all the property belonged to Murphy; he was allowing Murphy to store the items at his home as a favor, and he knew nothing more about them.
Murphy came to the property and told detectives he didn’t know the items were stolen. He said he’d purchased them from an Amish family in Kentucky, according to court documents. He promised to turn over paperwork proving the rightful sale.
A lawyer representing Murphy sent documents to the sheriff’s department a few days later.
The information on the documents could not be verified by detectives and appeared to be forged, court documents state. The vehicle identification numbers listed did not match those on the trailers and pickup truck; serial numbers for the tractor and mowers also did not match.
Detectives tried to contact the sellers listed on the bills of sale for each item. They could not be reached, and an address for one seller led to nowhere, court documents state.
Murphy is expected back in court in January. A jury trial date in his case has been tentatively scheduled for April.