Reports: 2 Arrested for Allegedly Trying to Steal Property from Tornado-Hit Kentucky Home

Bowling Green police arrested two men on suspicion of stealing property from a tornado-hit home in the Kentucky city, according to reports.

On Wednesday morning, police received a theft complaint “in the 100 block of Whispering Hills Boulevard,” the Bowling Green Daily News reported, citing an arrest report.

The responding officer allegedly witnessed Jason Harral, 45, and Johnny Bratcher, 20, loading a Samsung washing machine into the trunk of their vehicle, while a Samsung dryer was situated on the vehicles’ roof, according to WBKO.

“The two advised they were ‘scrapping’ metal for profit,” the citation said, according to the report. “They were observed on property that did not belong to them. The property had recently been affected by a tornado, the residence destroyed and items on the lawn.”

The men, both from Bowling Green, told police they believed the property was free for the taking, according to the citation. 

Both suspects “were arrested on charges of theft by unlawful taking (valued at $1,000 or more but less than $10,000),” the Bowling Green Daily News reported. 

Bratcher was arrested on a theft-related charge in late September.  

The Bowling Green Daily News reported: 

According to the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded Monday to an address in the 3000 block of Porter Pike, where it was determined that a Honda motorcycle and several antique items were stolen from buildings on the property.

 The motorcycle and some of the antiques were later recovered on North Sunrise Drive, and Johnny “JC” Bratcher was arrested Wednesday on a charge of receiving stolen property in connection with the stolen motorcycle. Bratcher, 20, of Bowling Green, was also served with a warrant charging him with second-degree assault.

The alleged incident comes after numerous tornados ripped through six states in America’s heartland on Friday, killing at least 74 Kentuckians, according to WLKY. Another 122 remain unaccounted for as of December 16. 

The death toll in Bowling Green has reached 16 people, according to WBKO. Eight of those who perished were children or teenagers, and most victims lived on Moss Creek Avenue.