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HUTTONSVILLE -- Two Pocahontas County men have been arrested in a Randolph County incident involving a stolen car, a stolen 4×4 UTV, and a tractor stuck in a ditch.
Nathan Allen Frame, 21, and Travis A. Rider, 33, both of Marlinton, were each charged with receiving/transferring a stolen vehicle and conspiracy, both felonies. Bond was set at $50,000 cash for each man by Randolph County Magistrate Ben Shepler. They are currently being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail.
According to the criminal complaint, prepared by Senior Deputy Aaron M. Channell of the Randolph County Sheriff's Office, a stolen El Camino was found broken down in the "middle of the T intersection on Becky's Creek Road" on Wednesday. Officers also learned that a 4×4 UTV had been stolen from a nearby residence, and that a farm tractor was stuck in a ditch close to that residence.
Driving south on US 219, Channell saw a man with a backpack walking south, the complaint states. Channell stopped the man, who identified himself as Frame,and said he had been riding in the stolen El Camino with a friend when it broke down, but said he did not steal it and had not been driving it. He said he was now walking back to Marlinton.
Channell wrote that "during the course of the investigation Nathan admitted that he took the UTV from the … residence in an attempt to flee the area and got it stuck in the ditch behind the residence. Nathan stated that he did not take the tractor from the barn that was a few hundred yards away from the residence where he had just taken the UTV."
While searching Frame's backpack, Channell found "a set of keys that were marked with GM and had a small West Virginia license plate ID tag that read J.F. Allen Co.," the complaint states, adding that "the keys fit the ignition and the car turns on."
Chief Deputy B.T. Sharp wrote that he came across Rider walking south on US 219, according to court documents. Rider allegedly admitted to riding in the stolen car with Frame.