Dallas City Man Arrested for Stealing Burlington Railway Bars

A 49-year-old man from Dallas City is allegedly responsible for a large amount of missing railway bars that were being stored in the Burlington Rail Yard.

bars

Authorities from Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railway contacted police in Burlington regarding the theft. After a collaborative investigation from detectives and the operators from Alter Scrap Processing, it was found that the stolen rail bars had been sold in Fort Madison and then brought back to Burlington to be scrapped.

Investigators were able to use surveillance and record keeping information to identify Gary Stewart as the party responsible for the ongoing theft operation. The Dallas City man has been charged with 1st Degree Theft, a Class C felony, and Trespass to Railway Property, a simple misdemeanor. He is being held in the Des Moines County Jail on $10,000 bond.

Since May 1st of this year, BNSF has suffered a little over $30,000 in lost railway equipment that compromised the day to day rail operation in this area.

The departments that helped solve the case were Burlington Police, Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Madison Police, Keokuk Police, Hancock County Illinois Sheriff’s Office, Hamilton Illinois Police, BNSF Police and Alter Scrap Processing.