Two Junction City Men Arrested South of Eugene While Loading Stolen Car

Deputies with the Lane County Sheriff’s Office arrested two Junction City residents on Jan. 16 after finding them asleep in a pickup truck on Fox Hollow Road, south of Eugene, while apparently in the process of loading a stolen vehicle onto a trailer. The men were identified as 38-year-old Gary Allen Dawson and 27-year-old Nigel Anthony Solesbee. Both were booked into the Lane County Jail on multiple charges, and the department assigned the investigation case number 26-0214.

The stop began as what deputies described as a routine patrol contact that turned into an active criminal investigation. After the on-scene arrest, a detective executed a search warrant at a property in Junction City linked to the suspects and reportedly recovered additional alleged stolen property. Officials have not released a full inventory of items recovered as the investigation continues.

For local residents, the episode highlights a persistent public-safety concern: vehicle- and property-related thefts can be opportunistic, concentrated along quieter county roads and in rural areas where trailers and pickup trucks are common tools of daily life. Law enforcement resources spent on responding to and investigating these incidents are part of the broader economic cost of property crime, contributing to insurance claims and recovery expenses for affected households and businesses.

The Lane County Sheriff’s Office encourages anyone with information to contact sheriff’s dispatch and reference case number 26-0214. Tips can help detectives identify victims whose property may not yet have been reported and support ongoing evidence collection.

This arrest offers a short-term mitigation of risk for the neighborhoods along Fox Hollow Road and other rural corridors south of Eugene, but it does not address the root drivers of theft. Long-term solutions typically combine targeted policing, community reporting, and preventive measures by residents - securing trailers and equipment, marking property for identification, and maintaining good lighting and neighborly watchfulness. Those measures can reduce the opportunities that make rural property attractive to thieves.

Lane County officials must balance investigative follow-up with broader prevention strategies to limit future losses and the downstream economic impacts. For residents, the practical takeaway is renewed vigilance: report suspicious activity promptly, document and register valuable implements, and work with local law enforcement to protect equipment that is essential to farming, trades, and small businesses in the county.

As detectives continue their work on case 26-0214, the community can expect updates from the sheriff’s office if additional arrests or charges result from the Junction City search. In the meantime, the incident serves as a reminder that even quiet county roads can be the scene of significant criminal activity, and collective attention helps protect local property and livelihoods.