Four Iredell County residents have been charged with metal thefts around Iredell, Rowan and Cabarrus counties.
Detectives matched metal sales to stolen items and were able to develop suspects due to the changes in the law by the Metal Theft Prevention Act of 2012, which requires scrap yards to keep detailed records and take pictures of the material sold.
After interviewing numerous witnesses who provided vehicle descriptions, detectives found one suspect vehicle on Buffalo Shoals Road. The driver was Ashley Michael Pope; the passenger was Erica Kristen McCarter. A search turned up “numerous syringes with needles, a small amount of marijuana and other types of drug paraphernalia.” Pope was arrested on drug charges and for driving while license revoked.
Detectives matched the vehicle and tag to a number of metal sales at locations in Iredell, Rowan and Cabarrus counties. While interviewing the suspects, detectives determined Dustin Blaine Owensby was also involved in storing stolen items on his property. Owensby and McCarter were also connected to a house breaking, entering and larceny on Rowan Road, authorities said. Detectives were able to locate some of the stolen property and McCarter was charged with obtaining property by false pretense to return to a store.
Detectives were further able to connect Owensby, McCarter, Ashley Pope and his brother, Wesley Nathaniel Pope, to larcenies at a residence on Pineville Road.
Owensby, 25, of Sweetwater Drive, Statesville, has been charged with six counts of felony breaking and entering, larceny of a firearm, possession of firearm by a convicted felon, two counts felony breaking and entering a motor vehicle, domestic assault on a female, and 10 counts of larceny. Owensby is being held in the Iredell County Detention Center in lieu of a $125,000 bond.
McCarter, 21, of Fieldcrest Drive, Statesville, has been charged with five counts of felony breaking and entering, larceny of a firearm, two counts breaking and entering a motor vehicle, obtaining property by false pretense, nine counts of larceny, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana. McCarter is being held in the Iredell County Detention Center in lieu of $11,000 secured bond.
Ashley Michael Pope, 23, of Buffalo Shoals Road, Statesville, has been charged with possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving while license revoked, felony breaking and entering, breaking and entering a motor vehicle, two counts of larceny. He received an $8,000 secured bond, which he posted. Pope has new charges which are three counts of breaking and entering and six counts of larceny; he is being held on a $33,000 secured bond.
Wesley Nathaniel Pope, 22, of Buffalo Shoals Road, Statesville, has been charged with three counts of felony breaking and entering, and four counts of larceny. He is being held on $25,000 secured bond.
If you have more information, contact the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office at 704-878-3180.
This investigation is ongoing; more charges are likely