Farm vehicle theft produces charges for two

Published 1:59 pm Wednesday, March 17, 2021

SALISBURY — Two people have been charged after an unregistered farm truck disappeared from a Rockwell address.

Candace Russell, 36, of Salisbury, was charged with felony possession of a stolen vehicle, misdemeanor injury to personal property and misdemeanor fictitious tag or license plate. William Jack Daniel Upright, 35, of Rockwell, faces the same charges as well as driving while license revoked. He was out of jail on bond in an unrelated case.

The case started on Feb. 25 when sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a Rockwell address to meet with a victim of a vehicle larceny. A 1993 GMC Sonoma the victim used for farm work disappeared overnight.

The vehicle, which the owner only used on the farm and had no license plate, was left under a carport with the keys in the vehicle. Officers observed tire tracks leading toward the road.

The truck was found near Love’s Rest Stop on Peeler Road on March 6. Because of marks on the vehicle, law enforcement officers were able to identify it as the missing farm truck. It had a plate registered to a Honda Accord on the back.

Video allegedly showed Russell pulling up in the vehicle, going inside and then leaving with other people. Officers went to arrest Russell, and someone at the residence told officers the vehicle had been parked at the home for weeks, said Maj. John Sifford. The people at the residence identified Upright as the person who usually drove it.

About Carl Blankenship

Carl Blankenship has covered education for the Post since December 2019. Before coming to Salisbury he was a staff writer for The Avery Journal-Times in Newland and graduated from Appalachian State University in 2017, where he was editor of The Appalachian.

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