On Wednesday, members of the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigative Division arrested Jody Ashley, a resident of Highway 21 in Angie, for simple burglary of a business, theft of a firearm and convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

According to information from the WPSO, the arrest came as result of a business burglary on Louisiana Highway 10 in Bogalusa in November. The business owner believed that he had accidentally left the business unlocked for a very short time and when he returned he discovered he was missing a hunting rifle.

The break came in the case when WPSO detectives were in Mississippi recovering stolen property from another case and learned that Jody Ashley had sold a rifle to an individual in Marion County, Miss., WPSO officials said.

Detectives, with the assistance of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, interviewed and recovered the stolen rifle from the individual who purchased it from Ashley. Detectives were able to trace the rifle to the owner of the business.

WPSO officials said that during the interview, Ashley admitted going to the business, and when he discovered the owner was not present, he took the rifle and later sold it to another individual.

“I want to personally thank Marion County Sheriff Berkley Hall and his deputies for their assistance in solving this case,” Washington Parish Sheriff Randy Seal said. “This is yet another example of law enforcement agencies working together to solve crimes. Criminals do not recognize state or parish boundaries.

“During my administration we have worked hard to build relationships with our neighboring parishes and counties. I also want to commend our Criminal Investigative Division for their continuous hard work.”