Three of the four men arrested in connection with the high-profile break-in of Buck Racing Engines last September were sentenced in Federal Court in Winston Salem, North Carolina last week, with two receiving prison and probationary time, as well as shared restitution in the six-figure theft of a number of racing engines from the engine building facility in the town of King.
Jerry Clyde Stephenson, 47, was the first to be sentenced, receiving four years of mandatory prison time along with three years of supervised probation and shared restitution of $464,378.18. Christopher P. Goodman, 33, was given six months in prison and three years of supervised probation, and Joshua Wayne Montgomery, age 21, a first time offender, was given five years of probation. All four men charged in the case will be part of a joint restitution to shop owner and operator Charlie Buck.
Ronnie Dale Pollard, 48, who is believed to have been the mastermind behind the June 19, 2015 break-in, will be sentenced on December 16. Pollard was arrested on August 19 of last year by the Tulsa County Sheriff’s office and Goodman, the second suspect, turned himself in to the Stokes County, North Carolina, Sheriff’s office five days later. Arrest warrants were later issued for Montgomery and Stephenson, both of whom were taken into custody on the 3rd and 16th of September, respectively.
Pollard and Goodman were both initially charged with felony breaking and entering, conspiracy to break and enter a building and commit larceny, aid and abet felony larceny, felony damage to a computer system, felony possession of stolen property, and injury to real property, larceny after breaking and entering. Buck estimated at the time that more than $445,000 worth of engines were taken in the theft. According to the staff at BRE, none of the engines or parts contained within have ever been recovered.