A former high-ranking officer with the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office was indicted by a federal grand jury last week on three counts related to stolen weapons.

The grand jury, according to court records, returned a true bill of indictment against William Otis Wheeler on November 27, for one count of possession of stolen firearms and two counts of sale of stolen firearms.

Court documents do not mention Wheeler’s former association with the sheriff’s office. The documents also do not mention where the weapons came from or to whom they were sold.

The grand jury charges in the first count that Wheeler, at one time chief deputy for the department, between April of 2010 and August 10 of this year knowingly possessed stolen firearms, which had been shipped and transported in interstate commerce before they were stolen, knowing and having reasonable cause to believe the firearms were stolen.

In the second count the grand jury charges that between May 1, 2010 and June 30, 2010, Wheeler knowingly sold stolen firearms, which had been shipped and transported in interstate commerce before they were stolen.

The grand jury charges in the third count that Wheeler, between May 1, 2010 and August 31, 2010, Wheeler knowingly sold stolen firearms, which had been shipped in interstate commerce.

A warrant for Wheeler’s arrest was requested on November 27, according to court documents.

He is scheduled to appear in federal court in Raleigh at 10 a.m. Wednesday, according to a spokesperson with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.