Man Stole Backhoe, Drove Miles to Philly: Cops

A Pennsylvania man has been jailed on charges he stole a backhoe from a suburban construction site then drove it to a scrapyard in Philadelphia where he intended to sell it.

William Michael Pusey, 33, stole the $125,000 backhoe from Shainline Excavating in Phoenixville, Chester County on Sunday, according to police.

Officials estimate it took Pusey about 2-and-a-half hours to make the 30-mile trip to Philadelphia with the heavy machine.

State police say the backhoe's owner was able to locate it because of a GPS device installed inside.

Pusey was arrested in Philadelphia where he had heard someone wanted to buy a backhoe, police said.

Court records don't list an attorney for Pusey, who is from Columbia.

The man has been returned to the Lancaster County Prison because he faces an outstanding unrelated arrest warrant for theft in that county.

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