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Florence man charged in $80,000 chicken heist in Sumter County
An $80,000 chicken heist was foiled in Sumter County and a truck driver taken into custody.
www.wistv.com
Florence man charged in $80,000 chicken heist in Sumter County
By Jalen Tart
Published: Nov. 27, 2023 at 7:52 PM MST
SUMTER, S.C. (WIS) - An $80,000 chicken heist was foiled in Sumter County and a truck driver was taken into custody.
According to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO), Christopher Thomas, 55, [black, see video] was supposed to deliver 41,000 pounds of chicken to two locations in Milton, Georgia, but had other plans to make cash.
”I don’t know how you get $80,000 worth of chicken out of the plant in the first place,” said an anonymous worker at Pilgrims Pride Plant.
Sumter County deputies along with the assistance from Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrested Thomas on Saturday evening.
According to the SCSO, Thomas — who is from Florence — was hired by Pilgrim’s Pride to deliver chicken and is suspected of having intentions of selling it.
WIS spoke to a worker at the plant who said this news comes as no surprise as these types of thefts keep happening.
”I’m not entirely sure how this is happening to be honest,” the worker said. “That’s a lot of chicken to be stolen out of there twice so I really have no idea how they’re even doing it and what they’re doing to stop it.”
Investigators believe Thomas sold part of the load of chicken he was transporting in various locations and was in the process of selling more when deputies pulled him over for a traffic stop.
When Thomas gave consent to deputies to search the truck, the investigator saw pallets loaded with cases of frozen chicken which was confirmed to be stolen from Pilgrim’s Pride.
Thomas was arrested with approximately seven pallets loaded with 215 cases of chicken that weighed 8,000 lbs.
It is believed Thomas sold about 33,000 lbs. of chicken.
Thomas is charged with breach of trust with fraudulent intent and is valued at $10,000 or more.
The worker gave insight into what the company could do to better manage the security of the plant.
“I guess the checkpoint to make sure on who’s coming in and out, what’s on the trucks and all of that,” the worker said. “I have no idea on how they get the trucks out there cause usually there’s these big trucks with freezers in them so I’m guessing they have one of those.”
If found guilty, Thomas can spend up to 10 years in prison.
Thomas appeared in court on Monday morning and was granted a $50,000 bond, but has yet to pay it.
In May, WIS News 10 reported on a similar incident in the same county where two men were arrested after being accused of stealing $40,000 worth of boneless chicken breast from Pilgrim’s Pride. However, investigators said the two crimes are not connected.
