EPHRATA - Two men apparently picked the wrong place at the wrong time to allegedly steal metal from a remote farm.

David D. Dodson, 41, Ephrata, and Mark M. Hoose, 40, Soap Lake, were reportedly caught in the act Tuesday night by Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones and his chief deputies, Ryan Rectenwald and Ken Jones.

While driving home from a town hall meeting in Wilson Creek at about 8:45 p.m., Sheriff Jones said he saw a black pickup truck with an acetylene tank in the bed parked next to farm equipment near Stratford Road Northeast and County Road 22.7 Northeast, about 5 miles east of Soap Lake. Jones reportedly saw the silhouettes of two men near the truck and, believing they were stealing metal for scrap, backed out of the area and called for assistance.

Rectenwald and Jones, who were driving home from the same town hall meeting, arrived a short time later and stopped the black pickup as it drove north on Stratford Road, according to Jones. Dodson and Hoose were detained until the property owner was contacted and said neither man had permission to be on his property.

Further inspection reportedly revealed pieces of metal farm equipment in the process of being cut by a torch.

"The irony in this is we just finished speaking with the attendees of the Wilson Creek town hall meeting about metal thefts," Jones stated. "This is another example of how prevalent metal theft crimes are and how we will continue to try and stop anyone stealing metal for scrap."

Dodson was arrested on suspicion of obstructing a law enforcement officer, criminal trespassing in the second degree, malicious mischief in the third degree, theft in the third degree, driving while license suspended in the third degree and operating a motor vehicle without insurance.

Hoose was arrested on suspicion of criminal trespassing in the second degree and theft in the third degree. Both were booked into the Grant County Jail.