BLANCHESTER — A local man charged was charged with receiving stolen property and also of possession of drug abuse instruments, police said..
According to Blanchester Police Chief Scott Reinbolt, at around 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 4 a resident in the mobile home park at 800 E. Center St. reported that two of his children’s bicycles had been stolen from the back yard of the residence, despite being locked up with a chain. An officer spoke with neighbors to see if anyone had seen anything suspicious in the neighborhood, but no one had any helpful information.
On Saturday, July 6, Ptl. Micah Day read the report taken on July 4 and recalled seeing several bicycles sitting outside at an apartment complex near the trailer park a few days prior, Reinbolt said.
“Day also recalled seeing a man named Tommy Maffey working on those bicycles,” said Reinbolt. “He therefore drove to the apartment complex where he found one of the stolen bicycles from the July 4 report. He seized it, noting that the handlebars and foot pegs had been removed.
” At around 11:30 p.m. that same night, Ptl. Day observed Maffey riding a bicycle on E. Cherry Street with no safety lights. Ptl. Day stopped him for that infraction, and noted that the handlebars from the stolen bicycle were on the bike Maffey was riding. He also found the foot pegs from the stolen bicycle in Maffey’s possession.”
Maffey, 30, “was arrested and charged with receiving stolen property,” Reinbolt said. “A hypodermic needle was found in his possession and he was therefore also charged with possession of drug abuse instruments. He was taken to the Clinton County jail and will answer the charges in the Clinton County Municipal Court.”
The bicycle was returned to its owner.
“Ptl. Day is to be commended for his initiative, observational skill and tenacity in solving this case,” said Reinbolt. “While major crimes like bank robbery tend to get heavy police response and extensive media coverage, it is the small crimes like this that hurt the quality of life of the citizens in our community. I hope our citizens share my pride in Ptl. Day’s work.”
