RICHMOND COUNTY — A Hamlet man is accused of stealing and selling copper wire in Richmond County.
According to an arrest warrant issued by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, Ralph Collins Yates Jr., 52, was found April 8 in possession of copper wire belonging to MN8 Energy, valued at $3,000.
The warrant alleges Yates sold 135 pounds of wire to a scrap metal recycling company as if it were his own, with the value of the items exceeding $5,000. He is also accused of selling an additional 43 pounds of stolen copper, valued at more than $1,001.
Yates is facing multiple felony charges, including two counts of possession of stolen goods or property and two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses.
He was booked into the Richmond County Jail under a $35,000 secured bond. His first court appearance was April 28, and he is scheduled to appear again on May 7.
Yates is also being held in the Richmond County Jail under a $20,000 secured bond for a probation violation. Court records show he was convicted in November 2025 of first-degree trespassing and injury to personal property to obtain nonferrous metals and received a 24-month suspended sentence.
Earlier last month, two men and one woman were charged in connection with stealing and damaging copper wire from a solar farm owned by MN8 Energy on County Home Road.
In a separate case, a Rockingham man is accused of second-degree trespassing.
According to an arrest warrant issued April 28 by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, Keith Ronald Paglia, 51, entered and remained on the premises of Cordova Middle School after he had been told not to enter or remain there.
Paglia was booked into the Richmond County Jail under a $2,000 secured bond. His first court appearance was April 28, and he is scheduled to appear in court on May 14.
According to court records, Paglia has prior convictions including second-degree trespassing in 2024, possession of a firearm by a felon in 2018, assault on a female in 2007 and 2001, larceny in 2007 and possession of a Schedule II controlled substance in 2001.