ROCKINGHAM — A man and woman are facing criminal charges after allegedly stealing railroad equipment.
According to warrants, 27-year-old James Aaron Paxton of Lilesville and 36-year-old Jennifer Elizabeth Taylor of Rockingham, damaged and stole a circuit controller, junction box and derailer handler — valued at $5,000 — belonging to CSX Transportation at Midway Road on Oct. 15.
The warrant states that the theft of the property “impeded the flow of multiple trains at the listed location”.
Paxton and Taylor were each charged with: felony larceny; possession of stolen goods or property; willful injury to railroad property; impeding, preventing or impairing railroad operations; and trespassing on the railroad right-of-way.
Paxton was booked into the Richmond County Jail where he is being held on a $25,000 secured bond.
Taylor was also charged with possession of a Schedule III controlled substance after reportedly being caught with buprenorphine and naloxone sublingual film. She is being held without bond.
They are scheduled to appear in court Oct. 30.
Online court records show a bond forfeiture notice was filed against Taylor on Sept. 24.
Records with the N.C. Department of Adult Correction show that Paxton was released from prison on June 4. He served nearly three months after his probation was revoked on a 2023 Anson County conviction for larceny of firearms.
Taylor is listed as a probation absconder.
She was given a 24-month suspended sentence when she was convicted in October 2023 on felony charges of possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, selling or delivering a Schedule I controlled substance and obtaining property by false pretenses.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
