Police bust hog stealing ring

MERCER COUNTY, Ohio (WANE) -- Police in Mercer County, Ohio and Jay County Indiana have busted an operation where hogs were being stolen from a farm so they could be sold to a livestock company.

According to the Mercer County Sheriff's Department, Ricky L. Crouch, 50, of North Bryant, Indiana and his son Chad M. Crouch, 28, of Celina, Ohio were charged with felony counts of breaking and entering.

Lisa R. Crouch, 42, of North Bryant, Indiana and her daughter-in-law, Christina L. Crouch, 29, of Celina were arrested on charges of  receiving stolen property.

The arrests came after the sheriff's office received several reports of hogs being stolen from a farm located on the Indiana-Ohio state line.  More than 20 hogs had been stolen over the past few weeks, according to Deputy Sheriff Gery Thobe.

Investigators determined that Chad and Ricky Crouch had been stealing hogs from the barn. They then took the animals to the elder Crouch's home in North Bryant. Lisa and Christina Crouch were arrested while trying to sell some of the stolen hogs to a livestock company for more than $100 a piece.

"Things are pretty desperate in a lot of areas," Thobe said.  "We've seen a lot of increases in burglaries... Scrap theft and others.  I would just put this in with those."

A search warrant for an address in Jay County led to the discovery of more stolen hogs stored in a small barn behind the home.

The Jay County Sheriff's Department also took part in the investigation.