Other Hart’s Bridge suspect captured

Published 12:00 am Saturday, July 31, 2010

Law enforcement officers have apprehended the third man wanted in connection with stealing I-beams from the historic Hart’s Bridge and selling them for profit.

Sheriff Dennis Meeks said Eric Wayne Haskew, 21, of Brewton was taken into custody Thursday by Alabama Probation and Parole Officers in Escambia County.

On Wednesday of this week, a Covington County engineering department employee reported the discovery of missing steel to the Sheriff’s Office, and when a deputy went to the scene to document the damage and collect evidence, he arrived to find Haskew and Cody Brian Grantham, 20, of Brewton; and Joshua Allen Gradeless, 19, of East Brewton; in the process of removing more steel beams.

Haskew fled the scene, while Grantham and Gradeless were taken into custody.

Meeks said Haskew was an Alabama probationer and is being held at present in the Escambia County Jail for violation of probation.

“Haskew will face charges here in Covington County for his part in the thefts from the historic Hart’s Bridge in the Mobley Creek Community,” Meeks said.

Haskew will face charges of first-degree theft of property, a class B felony, and first-degree criminal mischief, a class C felony.

Haskew