UTAH COUNTY, Utah – A Utah County couple that discovered they unwittingly bought a stolen construction vehicle ended paying big for their honest decision to return it to the rightful owner.

The good deed cost them $11,500 dollars to be exact. They knew it was the right thing to do. 

It all started when Cody and Julia Jolley purchased a skid-steer.  Cody cuts lumber and needed it for jobs. They also wanted to use it while they remodel their backyard. 

They found it on KSL Classifieds. It was listed for $14,000, they paid $11,500. A few weeks later Cody’s friend jokingly sent him a screenshot of a KSL.com article that reported Salt Lake City police arrested two men for stealing $750,000 worth of construction vehicles.

Cody, who is a Draper firefighter, immediately recognized one of the men, Derek Johanson, 42, who sold him the skid-steer.

“I was like oh man my heart just sank,” said Cody.

The tough price of honesty.. costing one couple thousands of dollars. But they knew it was the right thing to do. Turns out the skid-steer they bought was stolen. Their story @KSL5TV at 6. pic.twitter.com/95cC76cJGZ

— Dan Rascon (@TVDanRascon) May 18, 2021

“We both were just like, you got to be kidding me. We were just stunned, we were just stunned. I couldn’t believe it,” Julia said.
The Jolley’s knew there was only one thing to do – return the machine to the construction company it was stolen from.  They contacted police and confirmed it was stolen. 

“I said ‘is there any scenario where we get to keep this, and [Cody] said, ‘no’.” Julia said, “It’s a lot of money. It’s devastating. It’s a blow.” 

“I would hope most people would do the same thing,” said Cody.

The skid-steer was stolen from Black Forest Paving in West Jordan. 

The owner, Earl Jolley, who is not related to Cody and Julia, said it was stolen on April 2 from a job they were doing in Millcreek. He said it happened in broad daylight and it wasn’t the first piece of equipment to be stolen from him.

“This spring we’ve had just a rash of theft. We are just frustrated,” Earl explained.

He said the second man arrested was Glen Verrone, 47, who he recognized as the man who also stole one of his trucks. He was grateful police arrested the two men. 

“It’s a nice feeling. We are tired of this. It’s hard to do business when you are trying to replace equipment,” said Earl. 

He was also very thankful for Cody and Julia’s honesty.

“I’m pretty impressed with his integrity,” said Earl. “Very grateful he did do that.” 

Julia is grateful her husband never hesitated to return it. 

“I don’t deserve him. He is such a good man. It’s just who he is,” Julia said. 

Friends rallied around the Jolley’s by setting up a gofundme* account to help get back some of that money.

*KSL-TV does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.