A tornado that swept through a town also cleaned up its crime figures.
Property stolen from gardens in the past was redistributed by Mother Nature and landed a neighbour in court charged with theft.
The tornado swept through Kingsport, Tennessee, damaging homes and throwing goods from Jerrod Christian’s home into his garden. But many of them had been previously reported stolen by his neighbours.
Since the tornado hit the town of Kingsport on Sunday, Christian has been charged with two burglaries and two thefts
Ed Cleek was among the neighbours emerging from their homes to survey the damage and was surprised by what he saw in Christian’s garden.
He told ABC News: “My house was torn up pretty badly, so I was checking things up. Then someone called me and said: ‘Hey, I think that’s your air compressor. You want to take a look?’”
Cleek walked outside, and immediately spotted his bright red air compressor lying in his neighbour’s yard. “I called the police right away,” he said.
Officer Thomas Patton, of the Kingsport Police Dept, said: “We also discovered a welder which belonged to Mr. Cleek as well. There was also a ratchet, an air hose and a weed trimmer that had been stolen from other neighbours”
Mr Cleek said it was no accident that his air compressor was in Christian’s yard after missing for a while: “My air compressor was locked up in a barn… I kind of had suspicions, but you can’t just accuse people without proof.”
Bizarrely, Christian was behind bars when the tornado struck.
He had been arrested for disorderly conduct when he became belligerent and disruptive after his girlfriend accused him of taking her van without permission.