'Professional hobo' arrested in Spartanburg Co. - KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar Bluff

'Professional hobo' arrested in Spartanburg Co.

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By Dana Wachter - bio | email
Jared Jowett (Spartanburg Co. Detention Center) Jared Jowett (Spartanburg Co. Detention Center)
Jowett gathers his belongings before leaving the library in Spartanburg. (Nov. 29, 2012/FOX Carolina) Jowett gathers his belongings before leaving the library in Spartanburg. (Nov. 29, 2012/FOX Carolina)

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SPARTANBURG, SC (FOX Carolina) -

Hobos, or migrant workers riding trains, have been around as long as the trains themselves.

Wednesday morning, Spartanburg County deputies arrested a man for hopping a train in the Woodruff community.

A deputy driving by said he spotted Jared Jowett just after 8 a.m. jumping off a CSX train. Jowett was arrested and charged with trespassing. He has been released on a personal recognizance bond.

Jowett said this was not the first time he's been arrested while riding trains. He said it comes with the territory because he calls himself a "professional hobo."

The 21-year-old said he's been riding the trains for two years and has seen 33 states.

While Jowett got to shower at the Spartanburg Detention Center, he said arresting him was a waste of time.

"I even told the cop that when he arrested me the other day. I said, ‘You know what's going to happen, as soon as I get out, I'm going to be doing the same thing I was already doing,'" Jowett said.

Jowett's last permanent address was Iowa, but he said he was born in Lexington, KY, and raised in foster homes in small town Wisconsin. Since then, he said he's wanted to be a bum.

He's got everything he needs in his pockets and his backpack, and he knows he's breaking the law. 

Jowett said he has no plans to stop his rail riding.

The Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office reminds people that it is illegal to trespass on trains and train tracks. Deputies warn that it's to protect people and the train workers from dangerous situations.

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