The estimated monetary value of the property climbed higher almostevery day

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"Less than 10 percent of the property has been reclaimed," saidSheriff's Capt. Rick Sutherland. "But we are not convinced all thevictims in the case know that all this property has beenrecovered."
He said the property - which includes cars, boats, tools and astack of kitchen sinks - comes from all over the region and beyond.
"We are talking about property from a large geographical area," hesaid. "We have several pieces of equipment marked with someone'sname or initials that has not been claimed."
That leads Sutherland to believe many people whose property wasstolen several months prior to the theft ring's bust and fromseveral counties away more than likely do not know their propertyis in a warehouse in Onslow County.
"We've done our best to locate them, but there is a lot ofproperty," he said.
Another problem in the reclaiming process is that some peoplecannot prove the property they say is theirs belongs to them.
Joe Whalen, an investigator with American Equipment, a nationwideinsurance company specializing in industrial use gear, said peoplewho invest a lot of money in equipment should take the extra stepto record identifying information.
"This is an excellent example of why you should write down allserial numbers and keep them in a separate place than where yourequipement is stored," he said.
Property owners should also clearly mark expensive equipment withtheir name using an engraving tool, Whalen said.
Sutherland said several local business owners have really steppedup to help the Sheriff's Department with the use of trucks andtrailers to haul the stolen property.
The Richlands man accused of being the middleman in the "blackmarket pawn shop" is being held in the Onslow County Jail on a bondjust shy of $200,000.
Culley Fountain, 36, was charged with multiple counts of larceny,breaking-and-entering and possession of stolen property.
Once the Sheriff's Department completes its investigation, theDistrict Attorney's Office will present evidence to an OnslowCounty Grand Jury in hopes of receiving an indictment againstFountain, Senior Assistant District Attorney Mike Maultsby said.
Fountain was arrested July 11, 2007 at a motel on U.S. 258. He haddrugs in his hotel room and stolen goods in the vehicle he wasdriving, according to warrants.
Fountain participated personally in some of the thefts, paid othersfor some stolen goods and stored them for resale, and he paid apercentage of the profits to someone higher up than him, Sutherlandsaid.
Fountain has been previously convicted of larceny and common lawrobbery, according to the N.C. Department of Correction.
Beginning immediately after Fountain's arrest and continuing forseveral weeks, investigators identified more locations - includingtwo stolen utility trailers - where stolen goods were being kept.Caches of stolen property began popping up in surrounding countiesas old-fashioned detective work and anonymous tips began to payoff, authorities said.
Two large storage areas were discovered July 14, 2007, whichdoubled the haul. At $300,000, the stolen merchandise had alreadyset a record in Onslow County. The next day, another storage shedwas found inside the county with thousands of dollars' worth ofproperty.
Then detectives raided a house on Mulberry Court in Castle Hayne onJuly 16, 2007. There was so much stolen property hidden at thehouse that extra help, three moving vans, a flatbed trailer and twodays work were needed to inventory and move it all. About 700pieces of property, altogether valued at $500,000, were recoveredfrom the house.
Throughout the rest of last summer, stolen property was recoveredfrom eight counties - Rowan, Pitt, Onslow, Duplin, Pender, NewHanover, Lenoir and Jones.
The estimated monetary value of the property climbed higher almostevery day as more storage locations were found. The recoveredproperty included cars, boats, utility trailers, furniture, aircompressors, circular saws, sanders, drills, large pieces ofconstruction equipment, shoes, washers, dryers, refrigerators,power tools, televisions, DVD players, shovels, pressure washers,riding mowers, model cars, new vacuum cleaners still in the boxes,floor tiles, doors, power generators and kitchen sinks.
The implementation of a new Internet service that connects lawenforcement agencies to a nationwide database of items sold to pawnshops helped detectives catch up with Fountain, Sutherland said.The online database contains data from more than 3,000 pawn shops,secondhand stores and eBay listings.
After Fountain's trial, the remaining property that has not beenclaimed will be sold at an auction at the Sheriff's Department.