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Issue Archives Keyword search for previousissue stories here... 15 May 2008
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Dudley man facing another felony charge
19 June 2008 – By John Cate, staff writer
A Dudley man who was arrested last week on nine felony counts relating to the alleged theft of three motor vehicles found himself back in the custody of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday.
James Michael Hargrove Jr., 32, of 133 Hack Dr., was re-arrested and charged with felony breaking and entering and larceny in connection with an incident which took place April 14, prior to the alleged car thefts.
Hargrove (right) was discovered that day in the alleged victim’s poultry houses on Broadhurst Rd. in Seven Springs. The owner of the property asked him to leave. Hargrove complied with the request, but after his departure, the owner discovered that copper electrical wire had been cut from the poultry house and piled up, presumably to be removed.
According to Capt. Thomas Effler of the WCSO, the motive in both incidents involving Hargrove seem to be a desire to cash in on a heavy demand for scrap metal. In the incident reported on last week, Hargrove was allegedly seeking to convert the stolen automobiles as scrap metal for cash.
“We’re having a rash of cases of copper wire being stripped and cars being stolen,” Capt. Effler said. “The price of scrap metal is so high that a lot of people are having this problem. We’re even having reports of air conditioners being stolen off property.”
Scrap metal prices have skyrocketed in recent years due to increased demand, much of it fueled by rapid industrialization in the Far East. For example, copper sold for 60 cents a pound as recently as 2002, but as of Thursday, was selling at $3.53 a pound.
“The bad thing is that stolen scrap metal is hard to identify,” said Effler.
“Unless there’s something distinguishing about an it, a person can’t just come in and know if we’ve recovered their copper wire.”
Prior to his arrest last week, Hargrove was already on probation for a shoplifting conviction handed down on May 14. According to Effler, he is no stranger to the WCSO, having been arrested by them in the past on other charges.
“He’s well-known to most of our detectives,” Capt. Effler said. “He has arrest records going back to 2002, for everything from assault, to breaking and entering, to larceny.”
In the most recent incident, he has been charged with felony breaking and entering and larceny, and is being held under a $5,000 bond.
WCSO seeks suspect in car theft
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office is seeking Jonathan Nathaniel Brooks, 21, of 145 Colonel Warrick Rd. and 961 Dollard Town Rd., Dudley, on suspicion of having stolen vehicles from a residence on N. Beston Road.
Brooks is wanted on two counts of larceny of a motor vehicle and one count of obtaining property by false pretense. He is a black male, 6’1” in height and approximately 105 pounds, with a two-inch scar on his upper right cheek.
Anyone sighting Brooks or with knowledge of his whereabouts should call Detective M.L. Reid of the WCSO at (919) 731-1400.
Round two: Two local races have runoffs Tuesday Dispute at meeting leaves Faison seeking commissioner Dudley man faces another felony charge Community mobilizes to aid single mom fighting cancer Local man charged with swiping tags Duplin County under burning ban Piggly Wiggly presents winner with mower
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