Murphy – A local man has been accused of stealing a firearm that was later sold back to the owner through Facebook.
Kenneth Lincoln, 38, is charged with four felony offenses, including larceny of a firearm and possession of stolen goods.
Court documents say Lincoln burglarized a property in the 1500 block of U.S. 64 East on Oct. 24. Documents allege Lincoln stole a .22 caliber firearm, a reciprocating saw, a chainsaw, a palm sander, three grinders and a jigsaw. The stolen items have a combined value of $1,500.
“With the amount of stuff, he either had a vehicle or someone helped him,” Cherokee County sheriff’s Lt. Tiffany Holland said.
After the heist, a Marble resident allegedly tried to sell the stolen gun through Facebook Messenger. Kimberly Tromablay Craig, 56, reportedly told interested buyers that the person who stole it was “in a hurry” to sell the weapon because it was hot.
Authorities say the gun owner’s daughter saw the weapon for sale on a Facebook Messenger thread and notified her father, who paid $75 to retrieve it.
Authorities interviewed Craig several times within a week before officially charging her with possession of a stolen firearm and obtaining property under false pretense. She allegedly told investigators that she thought it was a BB gun, even though the messages list the stolen weapon as a .22 caliber firearm.