Man arrested, charged in theft of half-ton chicken statue found in pieces
An Alexander County man was arrested and charged in connection with the theft of a half-ton concrete chicken statue stolen from a poultry farm.
The statue was found broken into pieces, according to The Statesville Record & Landmark.
Andrew Emilious Justice, 32, of Talorsville, used a tractor to remove the 1,000 pound, three-foot-tall white rooster statue late Saturday or early Sunday, according to the sheriff’s office.
The statue was valued at about $1,100. The base was found several miles from where the statue was snatched and broken pieces were found scattered at the intersection of Lambert Fork and All Healing Springs roads. Part of the road also was damaged.
The tractor law enforcement thinks was used was found in Taylorsville and white paint was found on the forks of the tractor.
Justice was arrested and charged with felony larceny, misdemeanor injury to personal property and reckless driving to endanger on Thursday. He was being held on a $10,000 secured bond, the Record & Landmark reported. His first appearance in court was set for Monday.
Abbie Bennett: 919-836-5768; @AbbieRBennett
This story was originally published February 16, 2017 at 6:50 PM with the headline "Man arrested, charged in theft of half-ton chicken statue found in pieces."