Corbin man charged with stealing ATV Tuesday morning

A backpack found at the scene led Corbin Police to arrest a Corbin man in connection with the theft of an ATV from a local business early last Tuesday morning.

Nicholas R. Smith, 19, is facing charges of theft by unlawful taking – auto – of the value of $500 or more but less than $10,000, first-degree criminal mischief and third-degree burglary in connection with the theft from KY Toyz.

“A backpack was located at the KY Toyz the day of the burglary,” Officer Lonnie Sawyers wrote in the arrest citation. “Smith reported said backpack was his.”

Police were called to the scene on Cumberland Falls Hwy. after the 2012 Polaris RZR 900 was found missing from the storage building behind the business.

“The front door has been busted in and the garage door had been badly damaged during the theft,” Sawyers stated. “Cords for the surveillance cameras had been cut.”

The business owners told police that the ATV was valued at $7,900 while the damage to the building was estimated at $2,000.

Sawyers stated that as the investigation continued, he spoke with Seth Krahenbuhl of Corbin, who reported that Smith had come to his residence on Kennedy Ave. off of Moore Hill Road at approximately 7 a.m. Thursday and asked to hide the ATV there.

A second individual, Waylon C. Hurst of Corbin, told police that he had purchased the ATV from Smith.

“Hurst advised Smith told him it was stolen when he purchased said RZR,” Sawyers wrote in the arrest citation.

Smith was brought into the police station for questioning Saturday morning and was later charged.

He was lodged in the Whitley County Detention Center and released from custody Monday on a $10,000 cash bond that required him to post 10 percent.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is scheduled to return to Whitley District Court at 9 a.m. on Dec. 16 for a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is probable cause to present the case to the grand jury.