Two Beckley men are at Southern Regional Jail following a theft at J&J Fabrication on Ragland Road.
Joshua Paul Farley, 32, and Brandon Jamie Smith, 25, were arrested on July 24 by a Raleigh County Sheriff’s Deputy after a brief search led to their whereabouts.
According to the criminal complaint filed in Raleigh County, Smith entered J&J Fabrication through the garage door after using a garage door opener found in a vehicle located on the property. Once inside, he opened drawers at the front of the business, located a money box and took $180 out of it.
Smith can then be seen on camera taking an orange ECO 4510 chainsaw valued at $329 and a black ICS concrete saw valued at $3,000. Two kayaks were stolen from a vehicle outside. The value of the two kayaks is estimated at $1,100, the complaint alleges.
Utilizing a K-9 officer, the deputy was able to track Smith to an abandoned house on Fernandez Drive. Located in the woods near the house was the chainsaw. Inside the house, the officer found Smith and Farley, the garage door opener, the kayaks and the money.
The concrete saw was not recovered.
After their arrest, the complaint states that both men refused to give statements saying, “there was no need and the [officers] already had it figured out.”
Smith faces one felony count of entering without breaking, one felony count of grand larceny and one felony charge of conspiracy to commit a felony. His surety/cash bond has been set at $50,000.
Farley faces one felony count of grand larceny and one felony count of conspiracy to commit a felony. He faces an additional misdemeanor charge of shoplifting following an incident on July 10 when he allegedly stole a Kobalt blower/trimmer valued at $199 from Lowe’s on Eisenhower Drive. His surety/cash bond has been set at $25,000.
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