ROCK SPRINGS – A fugitive sought for two years by the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office was taken into custody recently, but first he was deported from Mexico.

Sweetwater County Sheriff Rich Haskell said Kenneth James Ward, 51, formerly of Wamsutter, has been wanted since the summer of 2010 for felony Larceny in the theft of a Ford F350 pickup, a Ranco belly-dump trailer, two winches, a utility trailer, a Yamaha generator, and tire chains from Eaton Trucking of Farson. According to court documents, the property was valued at over $100,000.

Haskell said Sergeants Joe Tomich and John Grossnickle, who supervise the Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Apprehension Team, worked the case with the United States Marshals Service. They learned that Ward, an American citizen, was in hiding in northwest Mexico. At the request of Federal law enforcement officials, Mexican authorities apprehended Ward and deported him. He was transported to a facility at Nogales, Arizona, where he was handed over to American law enforcement officers.

Larceny is punishable upon conviction by imprisonment of not more than 10 years, a $10,000 fine, or both.

Haskell said his agency is arranging Ward’s return to Sweetwater County, as the investigation continues.