Home Crime Rockingham Police find stolen trailer in Hoffman; man charged

Rockingham Police find stolen trailer in Hoffman; man charged

ROCKINGHAM — A man is facing criminal charges after police reportedly found a stolen trailer in his possession.

On March 3, the Rockingham Police Department posted to social media a still image from surveillance video of a white pickup truck pulling a trailer, asking for help identifying the owner and/or operator of the early 2000s model Mazda B3000.

The trailer was reported stolen from Richmond Plaza.

On Friday, the department announced that it had made an arrest in the case.

According to the post and police records, 42-year-old Michael Edward Lawhorn Jr. was charged with possession of stolen property and altering or removing a serial number, both felonies.

Detective Clint Neeley said Lawhorn wasn’t charged with stealing the trailer because there was no way to prove that the defendant was driving the truck.

However, the suspected truck and stolen trailer were reportedly found behind a home in which Lawhorn was staying on Meadow Lane in Hoffman.

Neeley added that it appeared that someone had used a substance to remove the vehicle identification number, but there was another serial number on the trailer that allowed investigators to confirm it was the same one that had been stolen.

Police thanked the public “for reaching out to us and assisting us in apprehending this subject.”

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The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office assisted the RPD in the case.

Lawhorn was booked into the Richmond County Jail March 4 under a $10,000 secured bond. Records show he has already made bail.

The charges did not appear in online court records Monday afternoon.

Lawhorn has no prior convictions in the state, according to records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction.

All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

 



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