WOOD COUNTY, TX — Two East Texas men have been arrested in connection with the theft of a $30,000 backhoe from a waste disposal site in Wood County, according to local authorities.
Kaiden Nicholas Clanton, 21, of Mineola, and Tristan Lee Wheeler, 26, of Quitman, are both facing third-degree felony theft charges following the disappearance of the heavy equipment from Upper Sabine Valley Solid Waste on County Road 2353.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by KLTV, deputies were dispatched around 8:23 a.m. after employees reported the theft. On-site personnel pointed deputies to shoe prints from an AND1 brand shoe, noting that Clanton had previously been seen at the site wearing similar footwear.
Just a few hours later, at 12:15 p.m., another deputy located the stolen backhoe on County Road 2147 and detained both suspects. Clanton was still wearing AND1 shoes that matched the shoe prints found at the scene. The shoes were taken as evidence.
Both Clanton and Wheeler were booked and are currently being held on $75,000 bonds each.
The investigation is ongoing.
