WILLIAMSON - A 43-year-old local man was in jail Thursday afternoon after being arraigned in Mingo County Magistrate Court in connection with eight counts of grand larceny involving $240,000 worth of electric motors.

The suspect, Mark David Stanley of Williamson, turned himself in to Sgt. J. C. Dotson at the Williamson detachment of West Virginia State Police and was arraigned later by Chief Magistrate Eugene Crum. His bond was set at $40,000 and he was remanded to Southwestern Regional Jail at Holden in lieu of bail.

Crum said the criminal complaints against Stanley listed the value of each stolen motor at $30,000 and identified it as the property of East Co (East Equipment Co.) with offices in Williamson and a work shop located in an old mine tipple at Cinderella.

The case had been under investigation by Sgt. Joe Smith and Sgt. James Muncy of the Mingo County Sheriff’s Department. Sgt.

Smith told the Williamson Daily News that the suspect was an employee of East Equipment Co., and allegedly transported the eight electric motors to Penny Packer Recycling in Kentucky. “He allegedly sold one of the motors for $216,000,” said Smith. “We recovered one of the motors and returned it to the owner,” he added ..

Crum said the criminal complaints by the officers stated that the thefts took place during a period dating from March 28, 2009 through May 5, 2009.