Firefighters charged with theft

Warrior Fire Chief defends volunteers.



By Adam Smith

The North Jefferson News




Warrior Fire Chief Clay Neely is sticking by three volunteer firefighters charged with theft this week.

The three men — James Williams, 23, of Warrior, Lee Kilgore, 33, of Warrior and Terrance Jackson, 37, of Morris — are accused of taking items out of a mobile home slated to be burned in a training exercise.

Williams was charged with first-degree theft and posted a $5,000 bond. Kilgore and Jackson were charged with second-degree theft and posted bonds of $2,500 each.

“It was all a misunderstanding,” Neely said. “I’ll vouch for these guys.”

The trailer in question, located in the 700 block of Westwood Drive, was reportedly given to the city by a Warrior resident. The owner submitted a written request to the city, but reportedly never heard back, according to Sgt. Randy Christian of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

After assuming the request had been denied, the owner then tried to find a way to have the mobile home destroyed by other means and then tried to find a buyer for items that were still inside the residence. Those items reportedly included new appliances, lawn equipment and construction materials, the release said.

After sending a potential buyer to the property on July 19, it was discovered that most of the items had been removed and a theft report was made with the Warrior Police Department. The sheriff’s office was asked to investigate after allegations were made that Warrior firefighters may have been involved in the theft.

Christian said that fire department officials believed the property was under their control and had been abandoned. Some, but not all of the property was also reportedly returned to the owner.

Neely said that it is not uncommon for residents to give property to the fire department for training use. He said that earlier this year, the department trained in and burned a 5,000 square foot brick structure that was suitable for living. However, he said the recent experience has made him have second thoughts about taking property owners up on their generosity.

“The best way to teach a firefighter to fight a fire is to put them in that situation,” he said. “We have to take everything out of those buildings before we mess with them. Now, I just don’t want to fool with it anymore. It gives the department a black eye.”