False stolen car report nets Grayson 120 days in jail

The defendant, Travis L. (T-Bird) Brown Grayson, entered a guilty plea before Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley to charges of filing a fraudulent insurance claim and filing a false report.

He was ordered to serve 120 days of an eight-year sentence and to perform 40 hours public service work. He will also be required to make $13,123 restitution.

Grayson was one of seven men indicted last year in connection with an interstate theft ring which imported stolen goods to Warren County. The group allegedly specialized in heavy equipment thefts. However, Grayson?s charges were a sidenote to the theft ring as his involvement, lawmen say, was using one of the ring members to hide the car he had reported stolen.

Investigators say Grayson?s vehicle was found chopped up at the garage of Johnny David Ledbetter, one of the key players in the alleged local theft ring. Had the case gone to trial, lawmen had evidence Grayson knew the whereabouts of his vehicle but had reported it stolen in an effort to collect insurance and defraud Geico of the value of the car.

Grayson, who was a success during his brief stint at tailback for the Pioneer football team back in the 1990s, is the first person to have his day in court out of those indicted in the theft ring.

The remainder of those charged are Johnny Ledbetter, 52, Charles Ray Turner, 37, Jerry Wayne Turner, 39, Robert W. Lefevers, 58, Roger Hosse, and Billy Joe Baggett. They will face their various charges at a later date.