Staff Writer

The Union County Sheriff's Office is investigating the theft of a tractor from a local water company.

A report filed Tuesday said the 1997 Kubota belonging to Meansville-Riley Road Water Co. was stolen from the 2700 block of West Springs Highway sometime between Jan 3 and Monday. An employee told Deputy Roxie Belue that the tractor was left in the area for ongoing work. The orange tractor has a front loader and a back attachment called a pulverizer.

Thefts investigated

Also on Tuesday, a victim told Cpl. Jeff Wright that someone entered her home on 2218 Lockhart Highway. Jewelry worth $230 is missing, including a silver necklace, a silver bracelet and a pink ice ring.

On 242 Vaughan Road, a victim told Belue Tuesday that someone took her black pit bull from a fence at her house. The dog is four years old and has a white chest. A witness saw two black men leaving the house in a newer model Chevrolet with tinted windows.

Man charged in dog's death

James R. Dawkins, 17, of 152 Sunny Acres Road was charged Tuesday by the sheriff's office with ill treatment of animals. A report said Union County Animal Control Officer Heather Sealy signed a warrant against Dawkins alleging that he deprived the dog of necessary care which resulted in the animal's death.

Child neglect

Erin Michelle Miller, 19, of 254 Pea Ridge Highway, Jonesville, was charged Tuesday by the sheriff's office with unlawful neglect by a legal custodian. A report said the victim in the case, who is 2, had multiple bruises on his body.

Failure to register

Christopher Tony Lamb, 31, of 141 Oakgrove Road is accused of failing to register as a sex offender. He was arrested Tuesday at the sheriff's office.

A report by Lt. Kenneth Riddle said Lamb was supposed to register and pay an annual fee by Dec. 31 and failed to do so.

Drug arrests

A Union man and woman are accused of buying Lortabs from a confidential informant with the sheriff's office.

Wallace Preston Whitehead, 41, of 507 Hart St. and Tillia Dawn Wynn, 36, of 127 Grant Road were both charged Monday with purchasing a controlled substance. They both were released Tuesday from the Union County Jail on $5,000 surety bond.

A report said Lts. John Sherfield and David Kitchens met with an informant who told them Whitehead wanted to buy 12 Lortabs. The officers provided the informant with the drugs.

The informant met Whitehead on the Sardis Road and Whitehead gave the informant $85 for the Lortabs.

Officers stopped Whitehead in the parking lot of Union County EMS on the Duncan By-Pass. Whitehead told them he had given the pills to his passenger, Ms. Wynn.

She gave the pills to the officers and said she had provided the money for the purchase.

Marijuana charges

Two men were arrested after sheriffs deputies arranged a marijuana sale.

Charged Friday with purchasing marijuana are Roderick Lindsey Means, 28, of 388 Tinsley Road, Pacolet and Jonathan Ryan Inman, 22, of 592 Rogerstown Road, Jonesville.

A report said Lts. David Kitchens and John Sherfield, Sgt. Jimmy Johnson, Deputy Roger Hill and Deputy Jared Gilstrap met with an informant who told them Means wanted to buy a bag of marijuana from him. The officers provided the informant with marijuana.

Means told the informant to meet him at Greer's Car Wash. Officers put the car wash under surveillance. Means and Inman arrived, then the informant. They watched as Means got out of his blue pickup truck and exchanged $10 for the bag of marijuana.

Officers stopped the truck and found the marijuana inside.

Woman arrested

Victoria Marie Corbi, 26, of 122 Bird St., was charged Monday by the sheriff's office with financial identity fraud and making harassing phone calls.

The victim came to the sheriff's patrol office on Jan. 1 and told Deputy Wendy Childers that Ms. Corbi had been using her name and personal information to obtain cable and phone services through AT&T. The victim said she had lived with Ms. Corbi for around three weeks in 2007 and when she moved out she had been unable to find her driver's license, birth certificate, Social Security card and prepaid Verizon cell phone. She later received information from an acquaintance that Ms. Corbi was using her identification.

The victim called AT&T and it was confirmed Ms. Corbi had opened an account in her name at the Bird Street residence.

Ms. Corbi was released from the Union County Jail on cash and surety bonds totaling $10,200.