Isenhart

ELKINS — A man is behind bars after allegedly stealing a riding lawn mower from an Elkins store and towing it to Beverly.

Dayton Lee Isenhart, 22, is charged with grand larceny, a felony. He was being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $3,299.99 cash-only bond, set by Randolph County Magistrate Ben Shepler. The bond has been posted.

The criminal complaint, prepared by Senior Trooper A.P. Petrella of the Elkins Detachment of the West Virginia State Police, on Friday, officers arrived at the Tractor Supply business at 800 Beverly Pike at about 9:25 a.m.

A store official told the officers that “an unidentified male drove up to the front of the store, cut a cable securing the lawn mowers and stole a lawn mower,” the complaint states. The lawn mower was a 2024 Cub Cadet 42-inch Utilma ZT1 that costs $3,299.99.

The store official showed officers video surveillance footage that showed a man, dressed in blue jeans, a blue hoodie, black shoes with white soles and a ball cap, driving a black 1990s Chevrolet S10 pickup truck with spoked rear wheels and a diamond plate toolbox in the bed, according to the complaint.

The video showed the man “cut the cable and tow the lawn mower toward Country Club Road,” the complaint states.

At about 12:15 p.m., Senior Deputy T.J. Knotts located the truck near Elkins Motorsports in Elkins, and performed a traffic stop, according to the complaint. A passenger in the truck was Isenhart, police said. Isenhart allegedly admitted to stealing the mower and told Knotts where he had taken it, to a residence in Beverly.

Later that day, Petrella found the mower at the residence in Beverly and returned it to the store, the complaint states.

If convicted of grand larceny, Isenhart could be sentenced to from one to 10 years in prison, and fined up to $2,500.