LOGAN — A 34-year-old Montana man has accepted a plea deal after being arrested in a multi-state theft ring involving heavy machinery and shipping containers, according to court documents.
According to court documents, Dallas Ford Allred appeared Aug. 17 in Logan’s 1st District Court. He pleaded guilty to theft, amended to a third-degree felony. He was scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 19.
According to prosecutors, a landowner reported on July 19, 2024, that thieves had taken a specialized Cardinal “Mule”—a motorized, forklift-style machine used to maneuver storage units—valued at $85,000. A 10-foot beige shipping container valued at $7,500 was also stolen from the property.
Cache County sheriff’s deputies linked the case to similar thefts in Idaho Falls and Jefferson County, Idaho, as well as Brigham City. Because operating and transporting the specialized equipment required specific knowledge and heavy-duty vehicles, detectives suspected a coordinated effort across state lines.
Cellular location records obtained from Verizon Wireless placed Allred in the immediate vicinity of the Cache County property at the exact time the machinery and container were taken, according to charging documents.
Investigators across multiple jurisdictions also identified a vehicle used in the thefts: a white 2021 Ford F-350 pickup truck pulling a flat-deck gooseneck trailer. Records confirmed the truck was registered to Allred in Montana.
Deputies with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in Montana subsequently obtained and executed a search warrant on Allred’s property. During the search, officers located the stolen Cardinal Mule hidden inside a different shipping container. The stolen 10-foot beige container was not found.