ROCKINGHAM — A man was charged early Wednesday morning after allegedly stealing a hospital vehicle.
According to the Rockingham Police Department, officers responded to FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital-Richmond around 5 a.m. Feb. 8 to a call reporting that a security vehicle had been stolen from the emergency department parking lot.
The reporting person reportedly identified the suspect as 39-year-old James Arthur Johnson, and said he saw Johnson get in the vehicle and drive away.
The witness also reportedly told police that Johnson had gone to the ER and had been released.
Deputies with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office reportedly found the vehicle near Place of Grace Campus in East Rockingham not long after.
Richmond County Jail records show Johnson was booked at 6:52 a.m. on a single felony charge of larceny of a motor vehicle. He is being held on a $15,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 23.
Johnson appears to have no other pending charges, however he does have several previous convictions in Scotland County.
Records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction show Johnson was first convicted in 2003 on charges of misdemeanor larceny and simple assault in Scotland County.
In 2018, Johnson was convicted of breaking and entering vehicles and misdemeanor larceny. He was initially given probation, which was revoked in 2019, landing him behind bars for less than three months.
He went back several months after his release on a three-month reimprison violation and again for five months on a post-release revocation.
South Carolina court records show Johnson also has prior convictions in Marlboro County:
- 2017 – simple larceny
- 2018 – common law robbery, first-degree burglary
- 2022 – second-degree burglary, four counts of pointing a firearm at a person
Records appear to show Johnson was given an eight-year sentence on his most recent conviction (in December), which was suspended upon completion of drug court.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.