Alert farmer helps stop hay thieves

QUINCY – A vigilant farmer in the Quincy area led to the demise  of an alleged hay theft attempt on Sunday, Dec. 18.

Lamar Dana, 29, of Ephrata, and David Gottschalk, 37, of Quincy were arrested on suspicion of third-degree theft and second-degree criminal trespassing.

The truck the two men were using was impounded, and the hay upon it was returned to the farmer, Thomas Downs. Dana and Gottschalk were booked into the Grant County Jail.

Thomas, whose property is located in the 6500 block of Adams Road North, had been a hay theft victim before. He was watching his property around 6:40 p.m. when he noticed a pickup truck enter and back up to a hay stack. He called 9-1-1 and continued to observe.

A Grant County Sheriff's deputy on routine patrol happened to be nearby. He found the truck loaded with about $500 worth of hay and stopped it as the men tried to leave.

Dana and Gottschalk said they had permission to be on the property. Thomas said they did not.