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The York County owner listed the standardbred pacer for sale and quickly received a phone call from a man who said his name was “Leroy Davis" who claimed that he was from Mississippi and agreed to pay $15,000 with two $7,500 credit card transactions, police say.
Then the owner arraigned to have her shipped to what he thought was the buyer's address in Moss Point, Mississippi, via a transportation company, Brook Ledge Inc., but at the midpoint of Lexington, Kentucky it arrived at a stable and was held due to Davis's trailer being "deemed inadequate and unsafe for transport."
After Brook Ledge Inc., again agreed to continue on with the transport in their vehicle, they arrived in Mississippi and a man with an Irving Albama cellphone number called the company and arranged for the final delivery on October 15.
After she was delivered, the credit card payments were declined as the company was disputing them as fraudulent, and the money was removed from the man’s bank account to cover the chargeback.
The York County man reach out to the police and Criminal Investigator Tropper Timothy Reynolds took over the investigation.
Reynolds obtained search warrants for multiple phone numbers that were used to facilitate the transactions and requested that the Mobile County Sheriff’s Department check the address that was associated with the phone number in Irvington, Alabama.
On Dec. 28, law enforcement checked the address and found a horse that matched the description of Predict the Future on an adjacent property. They also spotted a trailer matching the images of the involved trailer from Lexington, Kentucky, and Moss Point, Mississippi, as detailed in the release.
The Mobile County Sheriff’s Department confirmed through property records in Alabama that Wells is the owner of the property at 11325 Moores Lane. It was also found that Wells was associated with the property at 4125 Griffin Street in Moss Point, Mississippi. This was the same address “Leroy Davis” gave the York County man on the bill of sale documents for the horse.
The police scanned the microchip on the horse and confirmed that she was "Predict the Future."
Law enforcement seized her and stabled her locally until she could be transported back to Pennsylvania, police say.
Trooper Reynolds obtained an arrest warrant for Wells. Wells was charged with Theft, Access Device Fraud, and Criminal Use of a Communications Facility. Charges were filed on Jan. 6.
Wells turned himself in on Jan. 18 and on Feb. 1 Trooper Reynolds obtained another arrest warrant for Wells on charges of Theft of Services, Access Device Fraud, and Criminal Use of Communication Facility in Berks County for using a fraudulent credit card to facilitate the transportation of the horse through Brook Ledge Inc.
Bradley Antwan Wells, 39, of Grand Bay, Alabama was released on a $40,000 bond and his preliminary hearing was held before Magisterial District Judge Lindy Lane Sweeney on Feb. 9 at 9:30 a.m., according to his court dockets. His arraignment on the February charges is still pending at the time of this publication.
Horses being returned to their rightful owners happens so rarely, there are even charity organizations to try and combat the thefts. Predict the Future is lucky to have been returned to its owner, authorities say.
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