FOLEY — A Georgia man has been arrested after he drove past Foley police investigators in a truck he allegedly stole in Fairhope. Police officers at the time were recovering a truck the same man had allegedly stolen earlier in Foley.

Lt. David White, commander of investigative operations at Foley Police Department, said Harold Richard Green, 52, of Columbus, Ga., who has been living in Fairhope, allegedly stole a truck and utility trailer on Aug. 29 from Philean Avenue in Foley. A washing machine and dryer were on the trailer at the time of the theft.

According to White, Fairhope police found the missing truck in Fairhope, and he and fellow investigator Tony Nelson went to Fairhope to recover the truck, which had been abandoned when it ran out of gas. Green, it appears, had subsequently stolen another truck in Fairhope as well as breaking into some sheds and the like.

As White puts it, while he and Nelson were at the scene recovering the Foley pickup, “The guy drove right by us.” White said the stolen Fairhope pickup was identified at the scene by one of the theft victims.

Green was stopped and told police where the washing machine and dryer stolen from Foley could be found.

The night of the Foley truck theft there was a report of suspicious activity at a location on South Cedar Street near Philean Avenue, White said. There police recovered two 5-gallon gas cans and a driver’s license. As it turned out, the license belonged to Green.

Fairhope police also recovered stolen property from several break-ins in that city following Green’s arrest, White said.

In a side note to Green’s arrest, White said he and the victim of the Foley truck theft were driving the stolen vehicle home when it ran out of gas. (Nelson, the other Foley investigator, had gone in search of the residence where Green was staying in Fairhope and where they had been told the stolen washing machine and dryer from Foley could be found.)

They were putting gas in the truck when White said they were approached at one point by an unidentified male.

White, who was not in uniform, noted in recounting the story, “I’m in blue jeans and a T-shirt.” He said the unidentified man asked them if they were there to get “the thing.” White, playing along, responded they were. The man asked if they knew where “the thing” was; White said no. The man agreed to show them. As it turned out, the man led them to the house where Green had been staying and where Nelson had not yet arrived as a result of having problems locating the residence. At that point White said he identified himself as a Foley police lieutenant to the unidentified man’s surprise. Also, they found that the stolen dryer was in use at the house.

As of this writing, Green has not been charged by Foley police who are awaiting Fairhope charges in connection with the Georgia man’s arrest. White said when Green is charged in Foley it will most likely be first-degree receiving stolen property.

The unidentified man was not arrested nor was anyone at the residence where Green was staying, White said, noting he still doesn’t know what “the thing” was.