Travis Wayne Howard
Travis Wayne Howard, 42, and Thomas Joshua Barnhill, 35, were arrested Sunday and charged with various crimes, after being caught stealing catalytic converters.
Bradley County Sheriff's Office deputies backed up Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers in stopping Barnhill and Howard walking along I-75 near mile marker 27 on Monday. Upon making contact with the two pedestrians, troopers discovered Barnhill and Howard were carrying cutting tools and a recently cut catalytic converter.
Cleveland Police Department officers and BCSO patrol deputies responded to assist the troopers, along with investigators from THP and BCSO.
The collaborative investigation discovered that the suspects were coming from a business on Frontage Road where they cut the catalytic converter from a vehicle stored there. Additionally, the investigators determined that the same suspects had burglarized a building at the same business in April.
Barnhill and Howard were booked into the Bradley County Jail and both charged with burglary, two counts of felony vandalism and three counts of theft under $1,000. Barnhill was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia that he was discovered to be in possession of at the time of his arrest.
Thomas Joshua Barnhill