Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 12, 1994 TAG: 9408120098
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Charlie Bowers says he'll never hire the likes of Ricky Ray Bradley again.
"Next time, ol' Charlie is going to be more careful," said Bowers, a Concordia, Kan., car dealer. "I don't care if they're accompanied by Jesus, I'm going to be more selective."
Bowers is only the latest in a line of people who claim they've been victimized by Bradley, a Franklin County man with a history of thefts.
He's charged with auto theft in Kansas and cattle rustling in Botetourt County, and was convicted this year of stealing the belongings of a Franklin County woman who trusted him to sell them.
"He just seems like a down-home country boy," said Botetourt County Sheriff's Investigator Delbert Dudding. "To talk to him, he's real smooth. He can just suck you right in."
Charlie Bowers accepted his stories and believed he was a guy down on his luck.
"He had good Southern manners," Bowers said.
It was only after Bradley had been charged with stealing one of Bowers' trucks that the full truth emerged.
He faces charges of stealing more than 85 head of cattle and a haybaler in Botetourt County, where he didn't show up for trial last month. When he failed to appear, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
He's also wanted in Franklin County, where he's accused of violating the terms of probation from his grand larceny conviction.
He rolled into Concordia, a northern Kansas farming town, in late May with no vehicle and a story. He said he'd been stranded in Wichita after his pickup truck broke down.
After working at a motel for his keep, he gained the confidence of its owner, who recommended him to Bowers for a job. Bowers had just fired the man who had been cleaning his cars, and offered Bradley some work.
Bowers accepted him as a man who was simply down on his luck. Bradley said he'd recently separated from his wife and had decided to leave Virginia.
"He said he took his trailer, his truck and his horse and hit the road," Bowers said.
Things seemed to be going along fine, until last weekend, when Bradley told Bowers he was going to Sturgis, S.D., for a bikers' rally.
"I could tell he was drunk," Bowers said. "He had a wild weekend of partying. He and this sweetheart he was staying with went to Sturgis."
Unknown to Bowers, the pickup he loaned Bradley had gone along for the ride. When Bradley didn't show up for work, Bowers went looking for him.
That afternoon, Bowers called the Cloud County Sheriff's Office and reported the truck stolen. A computer check showed Bradley was wanted in Virginia.
"I just felt like I'd been betrayed," Bowers said. He then received a call from Bradley, who said he was returning with the truck.
When he rolled back into town, the sheriff's office was waiting and took him into custody.
On Thursday, it wasn't clear whether Bradley would fight extradition.
He still faces trial in Botetourt County on charges of stealing $65,000 worth of cattle and machinery last fall. When the owners of the farm went out of town, investigators say, Bradley sold their property to other farmers by convincing them he was the farm's manager.
Dudding, who interviewed Bradley in the course of the Botetourt County investigation, admits he's got a way with words.
"He can tell a good story," Dudding said. "I know some of what he is saying isn't the truth."
And when confronted with allegations of wrongdoing, Bradley's mood seems to change.
"He's not quite as charming," Dudding said.
by CNB