(The following story appeared on the Tidewater News website on July 8.)
COURTLAND, Va. — Three men are charged with grand larceny and possessing burglary tools after their arrest last week in connection with thefts of property from Norfolk Southern Railroad.
According to Detective Cpl. Richard Morris, a spokesman for the Southampton County Sheriff’s Office, the men had “a quantity of copper telegraph line,” along with bolt cutters and climbing spikes in their vehicle when they were stopped in Ivor July 2.
Police had received a report of a “suspicious” vehicle occupied by several individuals and parked on a path just off Route 460.
When deputies responded, they found the men with the stolen telegraph line and learned that it had been cut from property belonging to the railroad, Morris said.
Police arrested Robert Leroy Watts Jr., 21, and Daniel William Phelps, 47, both of Shamokin, Pa., and Cecil Harold Phelps, 40, of Creswell, N.C.
All three are being held in the Southampton County Jail without bond, according to Morris.
The investigation is being handled by Sheriff’s Deputy Donald Edwards in conjunction with the Norfolk Southern Railroad Police.