ROCKINGHAM — Two men are facing charges related to the theft of copper wiring.
According to warrants, 39-year-old Matthew Allan Winfield and 46-year-old Joseph Neil Whittle pulled down telecommunications lines on Aug. 1, stealing copper wire belonging to AT&T.
Investigators with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office say the damaged lines were on Airport Road in East Rockingham.
Both men were arrested Aug. 14 and each charged with one count of injuring utility wires or fixtures and felony larceny.
Each man is being held in the Richmond County Jail on a $25,000 secured bond. They are scheduled to appear in court Sept. 4.
The two are suspected of stealing wire from other parts and the county and possibly other counties, according to investigators. More charges may be filed in the future.
Records with the N.C. Department of Adult Correction show Winfield was first convicted of damage to property in 2005, then later in 2017 of obtaining property by false pretenses and misdemeanor larceny in Moore County.
Whittle was first convicted in 2018 of delivering or selling a Schedule II controlled substance and maintaining any place for a controlled substance.
Records show Whittle’s probation was revoked the following year when he was convicted of possession with intent to sell a Schedule II controlled substance; and a charge of possession with intent to sell a Schedule II controlled substance was added to the original conviction.
Whittle’s most recent conviction was in 2023 for possession of drug paraphernalia.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
