Bowie County make arrest after working with Morris County to recover $86k in heavy equipment stolen from Bowie County citizen

  • By News Desk

Expensive equipment stolen from a Bowie County citizen was recovered in a joint police operation between Morris County and Bowie County, according to the Bowie County Sheriff's Office.

Bowie County Sheriff’s Office Investigator David Biggar met with Morris County Sheriff’s Deputies on CR 4301 in Naples, TX on Monday, May 13, 2019 after Morris County Deputies had been dispatched to the location in response to a GPS Beacon that was attached to a recently stolen excavator.

Morris County Deputy Smith arrived to find numerous pieces of equipment hidden on the property. Investigator Biggar confirmed four pieces of equipment as stolen from Bowie County.

All of the pieces were stolen in December of 2018 and were part of an extensive list of property taken from Anthony Cooper. A prior press release for case B18-03171 had been disseminated in hopes of recovering the property. Investigator Biggar spoke with the Morris County property owner regarding the stolen equipment.

He was identified as Justin Paul Cobb, white male, DOB 7-3-1982. His explanation for possessing the stolen equipment was not credible, according to police.

As a result, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Justin Paul Cobb for the offense of Theft O/30,000-U/$150,000. Cobb is in the Bi State Jail and his bond has been set at $100,000.00.

The following pieces of equipment were recovered and returned to the rightful owner:
  • Kubota brand skid steer tractor-valued at $70,000.00 
  • Big Tex brand 32’ gooseneck trailer-valued at $12,000.00 
  • Land Pride brand pallet forks-valued at $1000.00 
  • Bobcat brand auger-valued at $3,000.00 
Total value of property recovered-$86,000.00 Morris County and Bowie County Investigators recovered the above items along with numerous other pieces of equipment that had been reported stolen from surrounding jurisdictions.

Editor's note: Any person arrested or charged with a crime is presumed innocent if and until they are convicted in a court of law.