Two North Carolina men are facing theft charges after police said a Roan Mountain man’s rototillers were found in the bed of their truck.
Joshua Tipton, 24, Elk Park, N.C. and Joseph Messina, 22, 621 Old Mill Road, Elk Park, N.C., were arrested Wednesday and charged with theft under $500.
Carter County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Tylor Johnson was dispatched to Duck Branch Road in Roan Mountain Wednesday to a report of a theft in progress.
Johnson wrote in the arrest report that when he got there, he found Tipton and Messina with “a couple of rototillers in the bed of their truck.”
He then made contact with the property owners. Johnson said that one of the owners told him the rototillers were his, and that they had been behind the home and under a tarp.
Johnson said the property owner added he had never seen Tipton or Messina before and had not given them permission to be on the property.
Tipton and Messina were arrested and transported to the Carter County Detention Center. Tipton was also arrested on a warrant charging him with failure to appear.