A Roanoke Rapids man was arrested after a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office investigation into a copper wire theft pointed them to Halifax County.

The report of a copper wire theft by phosphorous mining company PotashCorp, on N.C. Highway 306 in Aurora, came in on Sept. 17, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office.

Information and evidence gathered led Investigator Jim Adams to apply for, and obtain, a warrant charging James Oliver Johnson Jr., 53, of Thelma Road in Roanoke Rapids, with one count of felony larceny.

Johnson, and the stolen copper wire, was located at his residence by the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, according to the release. Halifax County Deputies seized the property and took Johnson into custody for the Beaufort County charges. He was released on a $5,000 unsecured bond.

No image of Johnson was available at the time of publication.