This archive report was first published on 5 January 2020.
On Christmas Day, three active-duty military families were dealt another blow as their moving truck, containing their belongings valued at over $100,000, was stolen in Stockton, California.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the families were relocating from the East Coast when the truck, with a 53-foot trailer, was taken.
Fortunately, investigators located the truck on December 28 in Manteca, California, about 15 miles away from the theft site.
Later that night, a search warrant was executed at the home of Michael Travis Forward, a member of the moving crew, and about 90 percent of the families' belongings were recovered.
Forward, 35, was arrested at his home in Livingston, California, on December 31, with a Harley-Davidson motorcycle that belonged to one of the families.
Officer Ruben Jones of the Highway Patrol stated, 'To steal on Christmas is really low, and then, when you throw in that they're military families on top of that, it's despicable. That's not how our military should be treated.'
United Van Lines, the company that was hauling the families' property, stated that Forward worked as an independent contractor and had passed a criminal-background check.
Forward faced charges including vehicle theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, and 14 counts of grand theft of a firearm, and was booked into the San Joaquin County Jail.
