Tennessee Highway Patrol Locates Two Stolen Commercial Vehicle Trailers Loaded with Hurricane Relief Pre-Packaged Meals

Wednesday, September 09, 2020 | 07:16pm

FALL BRANCH, Tenn.--- On Sunday, August 30, Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) troopers and THP’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID) located two stolen commercial box trailers loaded with approximately $450,000 worth of Meals Ready to Eat (MRE) that were originally bound for hurricane relief efforts in Louisiana.

THP Sergeant Bobby Bullington located a stolen commercial box trailer belonging to Conley Trucking Company out of South Carolina at a Pilot Travel Center off I-81 in Jefferson County. Sergeant Bullington also located the driver, Antonio Eaddy, from North Carolina. The investigation revealed the vehicle identification number (VIN) plate had been removed from the trailer. A secondary VIN was found which confirmed that the trailer was listed in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) as stolen.

THP Criminal Investigation Division (CID) Trooper Michael Hall responded to the scene. During his investigation, the cargo was identified belonging to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Troopers contacted FEMA and were informed the cargo contained 30,780 pre-packaged individual Meals Ready to Eat (MRE) bound for hurricane relief efforts in Louisiana. The load was valued over $200,000.

After further investigation, a second stolen commercial box trailer was located at a Pilot Travel Center off I-40 in Cumberland County. THP-CID Trooper Billy Collins and THP-CID Sergeant Jonathan Scott confirmed the commercial box trailer was stolen from Florence County, South Carolina. The driver of this vehicle has not yet been located.

Eaddy was arrested without incident and charged with Class A Felony theft over $250,000, driving on a suspended license, and criminal impersonation. A booking photo of Eaddy may be obtained through the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators notified all parties of their respective property having been recovered. The investigation is ongoing.

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security’s mission is to serve, secure, and protect the people of Tennessee.