A stolen ring sold to a Washington pawnshop led to a felony charge against an Aurora man.

According to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office press release, Samuel Brian Davis, 44, of Peele Road, was arrested initially on a warrant taken out by an acquaintance for misdemeanor larceny, claiming that Davis stole the ring from a residence on N.C. Highway 264, Aurora. The ring was recovered from the pawnshop in Washington by sheriff’s office investigators. Davis was arrested May 9.

“Every purchase a pawnshop makes is reported to local law enforcement,” said Maj. Kenneth Watson of the sheriff’s office. “There are statutes that regulate how they operate. They have (them) on big signs next to the cash register.”

Investigator Jim Adams obtained another warrant charging Davis with one count of obtaining property by false pretenses for selling stolen property. Davis turned himself in to the Beaufort County magistrates’ office on the felony charge Monday.