Two Pottawattamie County men were arrested Monday on theft charges, following an investigation into the theft of a tractor from a farm near Hamburg, in Fremont County. Sheriff Kevin Aistrope said Thursday (Today), his office received a report Monday evening about a 1967 John Deere 3020 tractor that was stolen from a farm on 240th Avenue.

Less than 10 minutes after the report was conveyed to law enforcement, the Sheriff saw a suspicious vehicle traveling in the 1100 block of 300th Avenue. Aistrope contacted his deputies and followed the vehicle, which then took off at a high rate of speed. The vehicle ran a stop sign at 300th Avenue and Waubonsie Avenue.

During the pursuit, the Sheriff noticed a tractor stuck in the mud in the 1100 block of 292nd Avenue. The tractor matched the description of the one reported stolen. The vehicle was eventually stopped by a marked Fremont County patrol car near the intersection of 310th Street and Paddock Avenue, in Mills County.

Following an investigation, 55-year old James Sarver and 46-year old Leroy Tichota, both of Council Bluffs, were arrested for Theft in the 1st degree.  Both men were being held in the Fremont County Jail on $10,000 cash only bond, each. Additional charges are pending.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office was assisted during the incident by officers with the Tabor Police Department and deputies with the Mills County Sheriff’s Office.