WINTON – A local man who is no stranger to Hertford County law enforcement is now a possible suspect in a string of crimes in Halifax County.

Felony warrants have been drawn on 22-year-old Cody Shane Bundy, who is currently in the Hertford County Jail awaiting a court appearance for allegedly breaking and entering into a motor vehicle near Nucor in late January. He was arrested on Jan. 31, according to Hertford County Sheriff Juan Vaughan.

The possible new charges against Bundy were reported earlier this week by rr.spin.com, an Internet news source based in Gaston. The charges stem from an alleged metal theft operation that targeted churches and rental properties in Halifax County.

According to that information, Detective Chris Scott of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office said felony warrants were filed on Tamara Nicole Lee, 28, and Julian Cornelius Smallwood III, 31, both of Roanoke Rapids, charging them with two counts of felonious breaking and entering, two counts of larceny after breaking and entering, two counts of possession of stolen goods, four counts of felony larceny, four counts obtaining property by false pretense and unlawful transporting copper over 25 pounds.

The investigation by the Halifax lawmen began at the start of this year with Lee and Smallwood, along with two other reputed accomplices, being suspected in several burglaries of churches and vacant rental properties in the Enfield and Littleton areas. The alleged suspects would take stolen items and commodities to scrap yards to sell.

Scott did not have an exact dollar amount on the metal that was stolen. He did say that dryers, washing machines and window AC units were some of the items targeted in the thefts.

Lee and Smallwood were arrested March 18 at their residences by Scott and Detective Harold Phillips. Lee is being held on $7,000 bond and is awaiting an April 9 court date, while Smallwood is being held on $14,000 bond and is awaiting an April 2 court date.

Bundy, meanwhile, is an alleged accomplice of the two arrestees, as is Claudia Renee Baldwin, who lives in the Highway 48 area of Roanoke Rapids. Felony warrants have also been filed for her arrest.

This isn’t the first time Bundy has been involved in criminal activity.

Last year he pled guilty to misdemeanor larceny and injury to personal property in Halifax County in a case involving the theft of eight batteries from the Roanoke Cotton Company in Weldon. Bundy was sentenced to 90 days in the Halifax County Detention Center for that crime.

While behind bars he was served with an arrest warrant on Aug. 16 charging him with breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering, and possession of stolen goods for a crime committed at a residence in the Clay Drive area of Halifax. Jewelry, a shotgun and window air-conditioning units were reportedly stolen from the residence.

According to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Bundy’s criminal history dates back to March of 2010 with his arrest in Hertford County for communicating threats and disorderly conduct. Later that year he was arrested again in Hertford County for felonious possession of stolen goods. He served 45 days in jail for that crime.

In July of 2011 he served one month behind bars in Winton for criminal contempt of court. Later the same year he pulled two months in jail for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and driving while license were revoked. Both those misdemeanor offenses occurred in Hertford County.

(Portions of this story were published, with permission, of Lance Martin, Publisher and Editor of www.rrspin.com.)