The arrest of 52-year-old William Roland Massey III comes after an investigation by Lieutenant Bobby Martin into the illegal cutting of more than $70,000 worth of timber from the Littleton area.
Detective Joe Sealey said Martin charged Massey with cutting, injuring or removing another one’s timber, which is a felony.
Massey, who was taken into custody and jailed on $30,000 bond, also faces similar charges in Warren County and awaits an April 13 court appearance.
Martin could not be immediately reached for further comment.
In August, Massey was charged with two counts of forgery of deeds or wills, two counts of cutting, injuring or removing another’s timber and one count of injury to trees, crops or land of another.
A joint investigation by the sheriff’s office, district attorney’s office and North Carolina Forest Service began in July when victims filed reports timber was cut on their land without permission.
In that case Massey had a legitimate contract to buy and have timber cut, the forest service said then.
Massey, however, also allegedly had loggers cut timber which wasn’t included in the agreement.
There was about $9,000 worth of timber cut illegally.
What led to Massey being caught in that case was someone saw decks were put down to allow machinery to move across often soft ground. The landowner was notified and the sheriff’s office was called.
It appears a deed was drawn for an heir of a property which said there was only one surviving heir, when there were several. The victim who signed the deed either did not realize there were other heirs or did not notify them.
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