Stripped Mercedes leads to Monroe County arrest warrants

In the dead of night in rural Monroe County, the sound of metal being cut pierced the darkness.

Something seemed amiss off Blue Ridge School Road about 3 a.m. Tuesday, and someone called the law.

Monroe County sheriff's Sgt. Lawson Bittick headed out into the country between Juliette and Indian Springs and found the skeleton of a 2006 Mercedes Benz R350.

"You could clearly see it from the road," Bittick said Wednesday after securing arrest warrants for the property owner.

From his vehicle, Bittick noticed the rear of the four-door hatchback, which had been reported stolen from Chicago.

The doors and panels had been stripped off, and its front tires were propped up on a makeshift lift of boards balanced on propane tanks.

Bittick noted the torch marks on the metal.

Wednesday, he secured arrest warrants for the landowner, Kenneth Reeves Turner, believed to be about 60 years old.

Turner is wanted for felony theft by receiving stolen property, possession of tools during the commission of a crime, and criminal damage to property in the second degree.

Anyone with information about Turner's whereabouts is asked to call 478-994-7048.

To contact writer Liz Fabian, call 744-4303 and follow her on Twitter@liz_lines.

This story was originally published March 30, 2016 at 5:53 PM with the headline "Stripped Mercedes leads to Monroe County arrest warrants ."