A mistrial was declared Wednesday

in the trial of a Griffin man accused of participating in a scheme to

sell stolen farm equipment in Fayette County.

The mistrial was declared by

Superior Court Judge Johnnie L. Caldwell Jr. after the jury indicated

it could not reach a verdict in the case.

Kenneth James Green was on

trial for state racketeering charges as District Attorney William McBroom

alleged he took part in the operation which involved some of the stolen

tractors and other equipment being sold in north Fayette.

Several witnesses, including

two men who have pled guilty to lesser charges, identified Green as one

of the persons who would deliver the stolen equipment, which ranged from

John Deere farm tractors to "Gator" utility carts and "Bobcat"

skid loaders.

Charles Floyd, Green's attorney,

argued that the state did not prove Green was involved in the scheme.

The stolen equipment was taken

from equipment dealers in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina.

The equipment was sold in Fayette and Henry counties for thousands of

dollars off the retail price, according to detectives from the Fayette

County Sheriff's Department who investigated the case.

Two of the state's witnesses,

Larry Franklin Whitaker of Griffin and Lewis Gilbert Shirley of Fayetteville,

pled guilty in October to two counts of conspiracy to commit theft by

taking. Shirley was sentenced to five years in prison followed by five

years of probation while Whitaker was sentenced to six years in prison

followed by four years probation.

Shirley admitted to selling

some of the equipment from his Fayette business, Fayette Auto Machines.

He also admitted that he knew the equipment was stolen and that he stored

some of the equipment at Green's request at the business.

Green delivered the stolen

equipment "about 75 to 80 percent of the time," Shirley said.

Whitaker testified that he

sold stolen equipment for Green through his former business, Midway Collision

Center in Griffin.

An Albany police officer also

testified how Green's brother, Bobby, was arrested outside a farm equipment

dealership there in what authorities believe was an attempt to steal equipment

for the ring. Bobby Leon Green and another accomplice were found with

keys that would start the equipment and a two-way radio, the officer testified.

McBroom alleged that Kenneth

Green was driving the vehicle that would carry the equipment, and he left

the area as Green and the accomplice were arrested.

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