Sheriff: Man charged after stealing backhoe, driving to airport to catch flight

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Ill. (KFVS/Gray News) - An Illinois man was arrested in Nevada and is facing charges of theft after he allegedly stole a backhoe and drove it 10 miles to the airport to catch his flight to the West Coast.

Timothy J. Baggott, of Carbondale, Illinois, was arrested Sunday in Elko County, Nevada, for charges related to the possession of a stolen vehicle, according to the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office. He was later released.

The sheriff’s office said Baggott was arrested again Monday in Wells, Nevada, for charges related to the possession of an additional stolen vehicle. He is currently being held in the Elko County Jail on a $40,000 bond, KFVS reports.

The Williamson County state’s attorney formally filed charges against Baggott for theft (over $10,000), a class 2 felony, Tuesday. A warrant for his arrest was issued with a $25,000 bond.

Deputies were called to the Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois to look into a suspicious incident last Thursday. A backhoe was parked in the airport parking lot, which was determined to be suspicious in nature.

Soon after the deputies arrived, the owner of the backhoe arrived on scene and said the equipment belonged to his company, according to Sheriff Jeff Diederich. The backhoe had been parked on a job site nearly 10 miles away from the airport.

Diederich says that further investigation revealed Baggott stole the backhoe and drove it to the airport, where he caught a flight to the West Coast.

Baggott arrived at the airport and parked the backhoe in the parking lot, as seen on security camera footage. He then walked from the backhoe, carrying a guitar case, and entered the airport lobby, where he got on a flight to Portland, Oregon.

“You hear of people either getting rides from other people, borrowing cars, stealing cars. But a backhoe being stolen from a job site, driven 10 miles to an airport for an individual to catch a flight all the way to the West Coast, carrying a guitar, that is unique,” Diederich said.

If you have any information concerning this investigation, please contact the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office at (618) 997-6541.

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