Three men were arrested for trespassing earlier this week after their vehicles were found stuck in the mud in a restricted area near Mellor Park Mall, 1865 N. West Ave.
At approximately 8:44 p.m. on Sunday, police received a report that someone may be stuck in a wooded area near the mall.
The complainant also said that several people were on the scene and they were yelling, adding that "No Trespassing" signs are posted on the property.
Upon arrival, officers saw a pickup that was covered in mud in the rear parking lot of Mellor Park Mall.
The driver of the truck, John West, admitted that he was "on" what appeared to be a natural gas pipeline on private property near the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and 13th Street.
The pipeline and a wastewater main are on the south side of 13th, just west of Jefferson.
Police noted that West's boots were muddy and a trail of mud led from the front of his truck to the intersection of Jefferson and 13th.
Officers also noted a "No Trespassing" sign on the site.
Robert Edmonds, director of public works, under which El Dorado Water Utilities' operations fall, said "There's a sewer main that also runs across that property. There is a 'No Trespassing' sign up so no one is supposed to be back there."
Police said they headed toward the pipeline, which is in a wooded area, and encountered three other pickup trucks that were stuck in the mud.
Two of the trucks belonged to John Crews and the other belonged to James Shaver, both of whom were on the scene, police said.
Crews told officers that he was called to the scene by West, who said he was stuck in the mud and asked Crews for help.
Crews said he initially drove a Chevrolet S-10 compact pickup to the scene and attempted to pull West's Ford F-150 pickup out of the mud but the S-10 became stuck.
Shaver then arrived on the scene in a midsize pickup, a Chevrolet Colorado, which also became stuck when he attempted to lug West and Crews's trucks out of the marshy area.
Crews said he then went home and retrieved a larger pickup truck, a Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The Silverado also became trapped in the mud, he said.
Further details, including why West was on the property and how he was able to get his truck out of the muddy area prior to police arriving on the scene, were not available.
El Dorado Towing and Recovery used three two trucks and was able to pull the pickup trucks out of the mud after spending five hours on the scene.
West, Shaver and Crews were arrested for criminal trespassing, a misdemeanor, and issued citations to appear in 35th Judicial District Court on April 26.
A fourth man who was on the scene was not arrested because he did drive either of the pickups, police said.