A Bloomfield man is accused of burglarizing a barn while the property owners were out of town. He’s accused of stealing a John Deere Gator and a package of ground beef out of the freezer.

Kevin Michael Wolfe, 41, Bloomfield, was arrested last Friday evening, July 10, by Deputy Camron Frye of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department.

Deputy Frye was dispatched last Friday, July 10, to investigate a report of a burglary and theft at a rural residence where the residents were on vacation out of state. The resident called the sheriff’s department after another person in the neighboring area contacted him and said Kevin Wolfe had been in the resident’s barn, had taken the resident’s John Deere Gator and that Wolfe’s red 2009 Ford Escape was still parked next to the barn.

Deputy Frye found the Ford Escape by the barn and had it towed at the resident’s request. The resident gave a detailed description of the missing Gator and when the deputy went to Wolfe’s residence, found it parked in a garage with the door wide open. Deputies Jordan Allor and Michael Coy then arrived to assist. Wolfe was not at home at the time, but when one of them walked past the Gator, they saw a package of ground beef, wrapped in butcher paper, on the Gator – it was marked with the resident’s name.

About that time, a green Chevrolet S10 drove by slowly then took off. The deputies determined Wolfe had a vehicle matching that description and while Deputy Allor stayed with the stolen Gator, the other two left to attempt to locate the S10. Then they were advised Wolfe had returned to the resident’s property.

Deputy Frye reported that as he approached the resident’s property again, the green S10 was coming toward him. He hit the red and blue lights and the pickup pulled off the road and came to a stop. Wolfe was taken into custody and transported to the Greene County Jail where he was booked in around 8:16 p.m.

Wolfe is related to the resident, but the resident said Wolfe never comes to the property when the resident is there and the only reason he was there on that day was because he knew the resident was not at home. The resident wondered if Wolfe had a key to the barn that he was not supposed to have. The resident said Wolfe did not have permission to take the Gator and did not have permission to take any beef out of his freezer.

Wolfe allegedly admitted he took the Gator but said he always had permission to take it and that he had permission to take beef out of the freezer.

Deputy Coy was able to locate the key to the barn. The Gator was towed back to the resident’s property and put back in the barn. The package of ground beef was thrown away.

Wolfe’s bond was set at $22,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. He posted $2,200, was released on July 11, and scheduled to appear in Greene Superior Court for an initial hearing next Thursday, July 23.

Wolfe is facing preliminary charges of burglary, a Level 5 felony, and two counts of theft, both as Level 6 felonies.