Three Willow Springs individuals have been charged in connection to the thefts of refrigeration units from the G&W Foods warehouse.

Arrested this week were Elizabeth Jane Counts, 22; Gabriel A. Carter, 17; and John David Carter, 38. The three have been charged with felony stealing. According to court documents, the Howell County Sheriff’s Department was contacted on April 27, with officers informed that several freezer cooler units had been damaged and some stolen from the G&W Foods Warehouse on Railroad Drive in the Willow Springs Industrial Park. The value was cited at $3,000.

While police were at the location, the reporting party received a telephone call from Trooper Brad Odle, with whom he had spoken earlier in the day about the incidents. Odle said that he had pulled up in a driveway on State Route UU and found John Carter with a load of scrap metal. He said that several of the G&W Foods refrigeration units were there as well.

Carter and Gabriel Carter were allegedly seen throwing scrap metal into the back of a white Chevrolet truck. According to court records, Counts, the owner of the truck, was standing in front of the truck. When Sheriff’s Deputy Shannon Caldwell arrived on the scene, he observed the scrap metal pile, and saw that all three individuals had black, dirty stains on their clothing and hands from burning scrap.

Counts told Caldwell the refrigeration units came from a building by Jasper Engines in the industrial park – which is where the G&W Foods building is located. Other items there were from another nearby business.

Caldwell asked representatives of each business to identify their property and to remove it, since the location wasn’t secure.

Officers found receipts in the truck used to haul the scrap metal from A to Z Recycling in Mountain View. The receipts were in the names of Gabriel Carter and John Carter. The three currently are free on bond.