CLAY COUNTY, Mo. - A huge and unexpected surprise greeted Clay County deputies Tuesday afternoon when they went to check on a report someone shot at a dog.
They are now guarding one of the biggest stockpiles of allegedly stolen property any of them have ever seen.
The two-acre plot is located just outside Missouri City at Bernard Hill Road and Broadway.
On Tuesday, Jacqueline Hurd said a neighbor's goat wandered into in her family's front yard. That's when her black labrador, Timber, chased the goat back on to the neighbor's property.
According to Hurd, the man living next door stepped outside and fired a shot at the dog.
"My mom and him got into a yelling match and he said, 'Why don't you call the police? See if I care.' And my mom said, 'I think I'll do that," Hurd explained.
Deputies arrived and found a lot more than a dispute between neighbors.
"It kind of looked like a Home Depot of stolen property," said Clay County Sheriff Bob Boydston. "The people seem to steal anything and everything and prefer to steal in bulk."
Boydston said deputies found hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stolen vehicles, lawn equipment, chainsaws, and orange trailers packed with appliances like stoves, washers and dryers.
"All of the trailers are filled to the point to where if you open the door, material falls out," he said.
Boydston also said the living conditions at the home were the worst he has seen in his 33 years of law enforcement. There were holes in the floor and the roof and he described the hygiene as "abhorrent." To make matters worse, an 8-year-old child had been living at the home.
One more twist to the tale: there was a three-foot python on the loose somewhere in the house, according to Boydston. That was a major reason deputies will wait until Wednesday morning to safely search the property.
A woman was arrested at the scene. Officers on Wednesday arrested the man seen leaving the property. The child is currently staying with relatives.
Boydston expects a lengthy investigation that will likely involve tracking down other people connected to the operation.
In the next 48 hours, deputies are hoping to assemble all the items located on the property so people can begin to claim some of the stolen property.
