A homeless man was walking along Georgia Hwy. 44 in Putnam County on May 31 when he spotted a tractor sitting in a field. A few minutes later, the man reportedly was driving the John Deere 4900 tractor on the road he had just been walking along.
Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills was driving home from work when he overheard a call on the radio regarding a suspicious man with a white beard and wearing a yellow shirt driving a tractor believed to be stolen.
After driving the area searching unsuccessfully, Sills said he received a call from the 911 dispatcher informing him the tractor had been seen going through the intersection of Hwy. 44 and Old Phoenix Road. Sills headed that way and spotted the tractor traversing the road in front of Anchors Marina.
“He stopped very abruptly upon hearing my siren and seeing my blue lights,” Sills said. “He stepped out of the cab, threw both his arms up in the air, and said ‘Hey, I didn’t steal it.’” The man-made “a res gestae proclamation,” Sills said.
Sills added the man explained to the sheriff that another man driving a red-colored Volkswagon van with an Arizona tag displaying the characters “SINNER 1” had taught him how to drive the tractor and had given him permission to drive it to the Flying J Travel Center in Greene County.
“He said, ‘You don’t believe me, do you?’ and I assured him I would do a thorough investigation,” Sills said.
Sills identified the man as Paul Matthew Kroening, 61, originally from Wyoming but presently homeless. Kroening was handcuffed and had to sit on the ground beside the tractor while they waited for Deputy Paul Bernichon to arrive to take him to jail.
Kroening had reportedly thrown an orange sleeping bag out of the tractor cab and onto the ground before he was stopped.
A backpack and other items belonging to the suspect were found inside the cab, according to Sills, who noted that Kroening “has a long criminal history that stretches across America.”
Kroening remains in Putnam County jail facing one count of felony theft by taking.