The day thieves stole his truck and trailer, Alex Gonzalez nearly lost his entire business. Inside was thousands of dollars' worth of lawn care equipment that fueled Gonzalezs livelihood.
A 64-year-old Neeses man is facing charges after officers allegedly found several stolen vehicles at his Rutland Drive property on Oct. 6, 2022.
George William Wannamaker, of 143 Rutland Road, was charged Tuesday with four counts of chop shop violations and three counts of possession of a stolen vehicle valued more than $10,000.
His charges stem from a Calhoun County trailer theft. A cooperative suspect in that case claimed that he and another person took the trailer to Wannamaker’s yard, an Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office incident report said.
Officers went to the Rutland Drive residence on Oct. 6, 2022 and saw a trailer matching the description of the one that had been reported stolen.
After securing a search warrant to enter Wannamaker’s property, officers allegedly found trucks, SUVs and a trailer that had been reported stolen from various places, including Darlington County, Beaufort County, the Charlotte area and Vidalia, Georgia.
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Warrants allege that the vehicle identification numbers had been replaced with new VIN plates that didn’t match the vehicles.
If convicted, Wannamaker faces up to 10 years in prison.
The Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office and the Elloree Police Department helped with the investigation.
Contact the writer: mbrown@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5545. Follow on Twitter: @MRBrownTandD
Martha Rose Brown
Staff Writer
Martha Rose Brown covers crime and other topics. She's worked as a journalist in the region for the past 20 years.
