Law enforcement officials in North Carolina are looking for a 21-year-old man accused of stealing more than $800,000 in shipping containers, farm machinery, mowing equipment — and Ashley furniture.
Devin Lynn Combs of Kernersville is charged with three counts of felony larceny, larceny of a firearm, injury of personal property and injury to real property, the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release on Friday, Dec. 17. Combs’ whereabouts are currently unknown.
The charges stem from a monthlong investigation involving at least four law enforcement agencies in central North Carolina, including the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office and High Point Police Department.
A significant amount of property valued at more than $800,000 was recovered, the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office said.
The goods included:
▪ Flatbed trailers
▪ Shipping containers
▪ Shipping container trailers
▪ Heavy farm machinery
▪ Cars
▪ Commercial mowing equipment
▪ Lowboy style trailers
▪ A tractor trailer
▪ A trailer full of Ashley brand furniture.
Investigators said they also seized meth, heroin and guns during the investigation.
The sheriff’s office said it got eight search warrants for various addresses in Kernersville and Yadkinville as well as for the construction company TMC Trucking and Grading LLC to help recover the stolen goods.
It wasn’t immediately clear what connection Combs has to the company.
“The four lead agencies would like to thank all law enforcement agencies involved, the Guilford County Environmental Health HERA team and the Oak Ridge Fire Department for the cooperation which made this operation a success, resulting in the recovery of stolen property for victims spanning across the state of North Carolina,” the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office said in the release.
The investigation is ongoing with more charges expected, and anyone with information about Combs’ location is asked to notify local law enforcement.
Hayley Fowler is a reporter at The Charlotte Observer covering breaking and real-time news across North and South Carolina. She has a journalism degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and previously worked as a legal reporter in New York City before joining the Observer in 2019.
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article256688722.html