Arrests made in attempted ammonia theft
Wanda English Burnett - Editor

Two men have been arrested for the attempted theft of anhydrous ammonia from the Jackson-Jennings Co-op, and the arrest of a third is pending.

Larry Jansen, 38, of North Vernon, and Zachary Gardner, 19, of Columbus, were arrested last week by officers from the Jennings County Sheriff's Department. Jansen is reported to be a former employee of the co-op located at 200 E. CR 200 N. near North Vernon, where the attempted theft took place.

The two will face felony charges of aiding and inducing theft and other charges are pending. The arrest of a third suspect, who has confessed, is pending. That name has not been released.

The trio are responsible for an ammonia leak that is said to have caused a four vehicle pile up on US 50 in the early morning hours of August 3, where three people were injured.

When the suspects tried to steal the anhydrous ammonia, they were unsuccessful and allowed about 300 gallons to leak out. This caused a cloud of "fog" that made it impossible to see the roadway causing the accident. The would-be thieves were apparently trying to transfer the chemical from the large tanks at the co-op into a 30-gallon tank that was found at the site later.

About 300 Jennings County residents had to be evacuated due to the chemical leak, and rescue workers and officers from neighboring counties were called in to help with the situation. Ripley County sent extrication teams, rescue squads, and firemen to the scene. Also, Mike Benjamin of the Ripley County Sheriff's Department, closed US 50 at the Ripley/Jennings county line until it was safe for motorists to travel in that direction.

Jennings County Sheriff Earl Taggart said none of the three trying to steal the chemical were injured as was rumored. He also noted that they were trying to steal the anhydrous ammonia to sell it to a methamphetamine manufacturer for $1,200.

The theft of anhydrous ammonia from co-ops has escalated and police urge citizens to become involved by calling them if they see any suspicious activity around those businesses.