MUNCIE, Ind. — An accused thief told Muncie police officers that he was sitting in his car when he spotted a delivery truck full of beer and liquor pull up outside Cheers Bar.
A plan came to his mind. Steal the truck. Sell the booze. Pay off his drug debts.
But the plan didn’t go as intended.
Beau Burchel, 39, of Gaston was found by police officers hiding in a brush line near Meadowview Farms, a mobile home community located off McGalliard Road.
According to the Muncie Police Department, Burchel was successful in swiping the box truck full of booze while it sat outside Cheers Bar on Thursday morning. But police spotted the truck in a field behind the Shriners Club located near Meadowview Farms.
As police arrived on scene, officers spotted Burchel, described as a man with a ponytail, running into a woodline near the edge of the cornfield. Officers found him hiding under a bush.
Officers said that Burchel reportedly admitted to swiping the truck as part of a ploy to pay off his drug debts. He hoped to unload the liquor and beer from inside the box truck and sell it.
Also found hidden behind the Shriners Club was a skid steer loader that was reported stolen earlier in the day. Burchel also allegedly admitted to stealing the skid steer and cutting off the GPS unit.
Police said a search of the liquor truck revealed that Burchel had damaged the box truck by ripping out the camera system and tearing away the GPS device.
The stolen skid steer allegedly has a value of more than $60,000.
The box truck was estimated to be worth $50,000.
Police said the alcohol was still in the back of the truck and valued to be worth more than $12,000 in assorted beer and liquor.
Burchel was booked on several preliminary felony theft charges. Final charges will be decided by the Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office.
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