Police charged Scottie A. Nixon, 39, of Cumberland, on Feb. 10 with stealing $14,662 in brass and bronze between August 2017 and Feb. 5. Nixon was arrested and freed on his own recognizance on Feb. 14. He faces trial on April 3.
According to the court papers, on Feb. 2, an employee of a Cumberland scrap dealer notified the Allegany County Sheriff’s Department of a number of “suspicious” transactions over several months. The employee identified Nixon as the seller, a sheriff’s deputy reported.
The deputy and a West Virginia State Police trooper continued investigating, and recovered from the dealer receipts for 61 transactions totaling $14,662. The trooper interviewed Nixon. The court record says the officers determined that Nixon “stripped a steam locomotive of the valuable metals…”
The deputy on Feb. 6 also alerted WMSR General Superintendent John Garner. Garner identified items as belonging to the railroad from photographs the deputy made. The court record states that $1,314.40 worth of brass was returned to the railroad.
No. 1309 was being restored for service on the railroad until work stopped last November when the project ran out of money.
Information from the district court indicates that Nixon has an arrest record going back to 1999. That includes a conviction for second-degree burglary and malicious destruction of property in September 2009. Nixon served three months of a one-year sentence in the Allegany County Detention Center.
Throw the book at the bum; he’s earned it over time.
I’m not a fan of middle eastern culture, but some of their punishments for law-breakers should be applied here. Cut the hands off of a few thieves, starting with this one, and it might discourge others from doing the same.
Who cares about what county these events happened in? I’m just glad they caught the guy. It’s hard enough to get a steam engine restored without having some damn thief stripping the project as fast as the crews are rebuilding it. I hope they hang him!!!
There’s no Cumberland County. Likely a typo.
The scrap dealer was in Cumberland County. At least the crook was smart enough to sell the brass in another county!
Mr. Klein – Western Maryland Scenic’s shops are in Ridgeley, West Virginia. This is likely where the items were stolen from.
Mr. Garner must be the worst, most incompetent manager of any railroad, ever. What does he say about how this fellow that worked for him could steal over 61 items and not be observed, in all that time. And not it says they only got 10% back. How can the director keep Mr. Garner on the job? He should be fired for not knowing this was going on. Maybe Mr. Garner is sorry the fellow got caught, and may wave any charged against him, because he often says the steam engine is not his main interest, or even any interest. But the diesel train ride is not long, or nice enough to survive without steam. 2.5 hours down the road is Cass Scenic RR with half a dozen steam engines and nicer WM diesel.
Surely agree with Mr. Keller. My first thought — how is a guy with that record hired in the first place? Also, have a question — why was a West Virginia State Trooper called in to help? All of the action appears to have been in Maryland……..
The reference to the Cumberland County sheriff was a writer’s error. It should have been the Allegany County Sheriff’s Department. Court records also indicate that the scrap dealer also was in Cumberland, Md.
Well, Mr. Ross, i believe those who are following this case and Trains reporting of such, are interested in accuracy, What puzzles me is why someone with a record as his would be hired for a position in which security was apparently not a major concern. No one missed these items? Inventory control?
Cumberland is in Allegany County, not Cumberland County.