Batteries stolen from county vehicle

For a second time, someone swiped batteries from a Quay County Road Department vehicle.

According to a report from the Quay County Sheriff’s Office, deputy Dennis Garcia was sent the morning of Sept. 7 to investigate a burglary from a vehicle at Interstate 40 and Quay Road AD.

James Hammer, a loader operator for the county road department, said batteries that been stolen from one of the county’s dump trucks. Armando Banuelos, a mechanic for the county, showed documentation of the Napa commercial batteries he just purchased to replace one that previously had been stolen.

The report stated the dump truck had been parked at Quay Road AD and Interstate 40 on the west side of a gravel pit and its bed was left in an upward position so water does not pool in it if it rains, leaving access open to the battery box under the truck bed.

Garcia noted the battery box cover had been removed, exposing the batteries to power the truck. The batteries’ cables had been removed and all four batteries were gone.

The truck was said to be parked the afternoon of Sept. 2. Total value of the stolen batteries was $680.

Garcia reported it was the second such burglary of county trucks along Interstate 40.