Two men have been indicted in federal court for an alleged scheme where vehicles were stolen on Fort Campbell and scrapped in Guthrie.
A federal grand jury indicted 20-year old Daniel Lee Clark of Fort Campbell with multiple counts of larceny of vehicles taken from Fort Campbell in April and May of 2022. Fifty-seven-year-old Joseph Pewitt, who owns the Guthrie Scrap Yard, was also charged with creating false documents and making false statements to the FBI.
According to the indictment, Clark was a civilian living on Fort Campbell. Claiming to work for Fort Campbell’s housing authority and claiming that his job was to dispose of vehicles, Clark sold over 20 vehicles to the Guthrie Scrap Yard.
Officials say these vehicles were parked at Fort Campbell and had been stickered by Fort Campbell police as being subject to impound. Most of the vehicles Clark sold were towed and crushed by the scrap yard. Clark did not work for the housing authority, and he had no authorization from the vehicles’ owners or from Fort Campbell to sell the vehicles.
Pewitt was reportedly told by one of his tow truck drivers that the military was investigating stolen vehicles. Pewitt then allegedly instructed an employee to fabricate invoices regarding his purchases of vehicles from Clark, and he provided those to military investigators. During an interview with the FBI, Pewitt is accused of making false statements regarding the fabricated invoices.
Clark and Pewitt will make their initial court appearances on a later date before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky in the Paducah Division.
If convicted, Clark faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and Pewitt faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Fort Campbell Provost Marshal’s Office.