It’s not brand new and it needs a bit of maintenance, but the 1997 red Ford F-150 sitting outside the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office will be put to good use.

The state seized the pickup and two trailers earlier this month when a Superior Court judge ruled the property had been used in two Dawson County burglaries.

John Wilbanks, an assistant district attorney for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit, said the premise is simple.

“Steal in Dawson County and we’ll take the property you use to do it,” he said.

Similar to forfeitures of property used to deal drugs, the vehicle was turned over to the sheriff’s office. Sheriff Billy Carlisle said the truck will be used at the detention center.

“With budget cuts, we haven’t been able to buy any new patrol cars,” he said. “So with the truck that’s in pretty good condition we can take one of the patrol cars the jail is using and put it back out on the street.”

Until two weeks ago, the truck and trailers belonged to Jesse James Kilgore, 39.

Kilgore was one of three Dawsonville men arrested in June when authorities recovered thousands of dollars of stolen goods taken earlier in the year from two homes in Dawson County.

A grand jury indicted Kilgore, his son Jessie Archie Kilgore, 19, and James Adam Rogers, 30, on numerous theft charges Sept. 14. No court dates have been set.

The men are accused of taking household fixtures, appliances and furniture to furnish a home the elder Kilgore was building in western Dawson County.

According to sheriff’s reports, the Kilgores were arrested May 28 at a log cabin. Rogers was arrested the following day.

Wilbanks said the recent indictments against the three played no role in the forfeiture.

“These are totally separate and apart,” Wilbanks said. “This was a civil case and the judge determined we proved our proponderance of evidence that they had, in fact, utilized Jesse James Kilgore’s truck and two trailers to facilitate the burglaries.”