GREENSBORO - Two North Carolina men were sentenced on June 23, 2022, and Aug. 30, 2022, related to the theft of construction vehicles from a community center in Pageland, South Carolina, after an investigation into the missing equipment led investigators to a residence in Stanly County, where the vehicles were ultimately recovered.
According to court documents, Danny Joe Almond, 45, and Douglas Wayne Mauldin, 52, were charged with the transportation of the stolen vehicles across state lines and the possession of those stolen vehicles, which included a stolen dump truck, a low-boy trailer, a skid steer, a paver, and a roller. A paving company left the vehicles in the parking lot of the Pageland Community Center overnight, and the community center’s surveillance cameras captured footage of a person entering the dump truck and driving it away, while towing the trailer loaded with additional construction vehicles. A dark sedan was also observed on the footage following the dump truck out of the parking lot. The skid steer had a GPS tracking device, which allowed investigators to track it to the residence of Douglas Wayne Mauldin in Norwood, North Carolina, where all the vehicles were recovered.
Investigators later used cell phone data, the vehicle tracker, surveillance footage, and eyewitness reports to create a timeline of the events leading up to and following the theft of the construction vehicles. As a result, Almond and Mauldin were charged with one count of unlawfully transporting stolen motor vehicles, one count of unlawfully transporting stolen goods in excess of $5,000, one count of knowingly possessing stolen motor vehicles, and one count of knowingly possessing, concealing, and storing stolen goods.
Danny Joe Almond was sentenced on July 14, 2022, to 24 months imprisonment and three years of supervised release. Douglas Wayne Mauldin was sentenced on Aug. 30, 2022, to 14 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release.
“We are extremely grateful for our partners at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and those in the Norwood and Pageland Police Departments, as well as the NC DMV, for their extensive work in tracking these thefts across state lines," said United States Attorney Sandra Hairston. “This case shows that interstate theft is not to be taken lightly, and that the partnerships between local, state, and federal law enforcement are thriving."
U.S. Attorney Hairston made the announcement, and the case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Craig Principe. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Norwood Police Department, Pageland (South Carolina) Police Department, and the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles License and Theft Bureau assisted with the investigation.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
