Deputies seek Jackson man in firetruck theft

Sheriff's deputies think they know who stole an East County firetruck. Now they just have to catch him.

A search began this week for Terry E. Moore, 26, of Jackson, who faces charges in a break-in at the East County Fire Protection District's Hanover Station on Sept. 13.

Moore may have fled to the Jackson, Tenn., area after detectives contacted him by cell phone, said detective Eric Friedrich of the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. Detectives informed him of the charges to try to persuade Mooore to turn himself in.

Moore was charged with two counts of stealing a motor vehicle, two counts of tampering with a motor vehicle, burglary and theft of property more than $500 but less than $25,000.

Early Sept. 13, Cape Girardeau police took a report on a stolen vehicle, a dark green Chevrolet pickup missing from the 100 block of Themis Street.

It wasn't the only vehicle to disappear that day.

As patrol officers were told to look out for the missing truck, they discovered a pump firetruck belonging to the fire district abandoned at 1409 N. Henderson Ave., within city limits.

A considerable amount of dried blood was found inside the firetruck.

When East County personnel were alerted, they found that the Hanover Station had been burglarized and that a piece of sheet metal had been ripped away from the building, allowing someone to enter. Blood was found on the jagged edges of the metal, and more blood was found inside the station, where the intruder had tampered with two other trucks.

Also missing from the firehouse were two Motorola radios, a camera, two vehicle batteries, a silver clipboard and a nozzle, according to Friedrich's probable-cause statement.

The stolen pickup truck was found in the parking lot at the fire station, its battery hooked up to jumper cables and a battery charger taken from the firehouse. Blood was smeared on the side of the truck and the driver's side door handle.

Suspicion fell on Moore after a video surveillance camera captured him pulling into the lot of the Lil Country Store in the stolen pickup truck around 1:17 a.m. Sept. 13. He bled profusely from his right hand and the right side of his head. He bought a six-pack of beer and what looked like medical tape from the clerk, according to the statement.

On Sept. 18, Friedrich and another detective spoke with the suspect's girlfriend, who lived with him, and got permission to search the residence.

During the course of the search, they found a high school class ring bearing the name of the owner of the stolen pickup.

The girlfriend identified the man in the surveillance photo as Moore, the statement said. Another person also identified the man in the photo as Moore, the statement said.

The firetruck was back in service the following day once some missing equipment had been replaced, said fire chief Dwayne Kirchhoff.

Kirchhoff said the department submitted its insurance claim, and the total cost of missing and damaged property will be slightly more than $8,000.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245