(The following story by Josh Boatwright appeared on the Asheville Citizen-Times website on March 2, 2010.)
FLAT ROCK, N.C. — Henderson County Sheriff’s deputies caught two men pulling up hundreds of steel railroad spikes from a section of active train tracks near Flat Rock, Sheriff Rick Davis said.
A witness called 911 around 3:30 p.m. Sunday reporting suspicious activity on the tracks, which are owned by Norfolk Southern Railroad, near West Blue Ridge Road.
Deputies found Cruz Mario Carnacion, 37, and Jose Luis Trejo-Yanez in possession of more than 500 7-inch spikes, which weigh about a half-pound each and can be sold for scrap.
Davis called the pair’s actions “incredibly selfish,” saying the missing spikes could have caused a train to derail.
“We’ve never heard of it, we’ve never seen it where people are actually pulling up railroad spikes,” he said. “This act of theft could have easily had catastrophic consequences had a train derailed in this area.”
The pair pulled most of the spikes directly from the railroad ties, though some were lying loose along the tracks, Davis said.
Deputies immediately called officials with Norfolk Southern to report the theft and the possible threat to the integrity of the tracks, he said.
Norfolk Southern Public Relations Manager Robin Chapman said he could not comment on the condition of the tracks.
Chapman said thieves often walk tracks to collect loose railroad spikes to sell to scrap metal yards.
“One individual spike isn’t worth that much scrap value, but you collect a quantity of them,” he said.
Carnacion and Trejo-Yanez were charged with felony conspiracy to damage railroad property, willful injury to railroad property and trespassing on railroad property.
The men did not give a permanent address and Henderson County’s immigration program determined they had entered the United States illegally, Davis said.
They were each placed under a $25,000 bond and ordered held on Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers pending deportation proceedings.