Kannapolis man charged with taking neighbor’s guns

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, April 2, 2013

KANNAPOLIS — A Kannapolis man remains in jail under $50,000 bond after authorities charged him with taking a neighbor’s shotgun and rifle from a closed-in porch.
The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office charged Joshua Lee Blackmon, 29, of 8100 block of Smith Road, with breaking and entering and two counts larceny of a firearm.
Ray Allman, the owner of the 12-gauge shotgun and a Marlin 22-caliber rifle with a scope, told authorities the guns were wrapped in a pink shirt on the porch. He used the guns to scare crows.
While officers were speaking with Allman on March 27, a family member approached them with information about who took the guns. The relative said the suspect just moved into a home down the road from Allman.
The suspect, later identified as Blackmon, was seen walking down the road. He’d asked about fishing on the family member’s property, but the man told Blackmon he could not fish there. The family member told authorities he saw Blackmon near a wooded path. Allman walked down the path and found the pink shirt his guns were wrapped inside on the ground; the guns were gone.
Cabarrus County officials have a pending 2011 court case regarding misdemeanor larceny and probation violations against Blackmon. He has been convicted of larceny, breaking and entering, burglary, assault, driving while impaired and larceny of a firearm.
Contact reporter Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253.