Mud-covered man reports armed men took lawnmower, but he’s arrested, NC cops say

A man found “covered in mud” told deputies he fought hard but ultimately lost a battle to keep two armed men from taking his grandmother’s John Deere lawnmower, according to the Union County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina.

And the evidence seemed to back him up — until the 28-year-old “casually offered to call the ‘robbers’ and ask them to bring the lawn mower back,” the sheriff’s office said in a May 19 news release.

The odd robbery was reported Thursday, May 15, on Landsford Road, about a 40-mile drive southeast from Charlotte, and deputies were instantly suspicious at his offer.

“For those unfamiliar with standard ‘robber’ protocol, no, it’s not standard practice for armed robbers to hand over their contact information to their potential victims or willingly return stolen goods,” the sheriff’s office said.

“A short time later, two men showed up with the lawn mower and provided deputies with Facebook Marketplace messages showing that (man) had sold them the mower, claiming it was his to sell.”

It was then that deputies started to connect the dots on “inconsistencies” that included the victim getting a ride with the accused robbers, officials said.

“Just so everyone is on the same page at this point, let’s recap. (He) stole his grandmother’s lawn mower, sold it online, rolled around in the mud to look like he’d been in a fight, and then called 911 to report a fake robbery,” the sheriff’s office said.

The lawnmower was recovered and taken “back to its rightful owner,” and the “victim” was arrested and charged with felony larceny, parole violation, obtaining property by false pretenses and filing a false report to law enforcement, the sheriff’s office said.

This story was originally published May 20, 2025 at 6:18 AM with the headline "Mud-covered man reports armed men took lawnmower, but he’s arrested, NC cops say."