A joint effort between police departments brought down an alleged copper wire smuggler, according to the Kenly Police Department. The agency shared an update about the bust on its Facebook page on Aug. 15, 2026, detailing what led police to arrest Jarrel Lamont Nightingale.
According to the post, the officers worked with multiple jurisdictions during the investigation, which led them to find approximately $258,000 worth of stolen copper wire. Unfortunately, it sounds like Nightingale may not have gone quietly when officers finally busted him, and there was a brief struggle reported at the truck stop where the arrest was made.
The story of the arrest has since gone viral and been covered by local ABC station News 12.
Of course, officers note that this investigation remains ongoing, and they are still working with the additional agencies involved to get to the bottom of what they are calling a “suspected cargo theft operation.”
Nightingale Was Arrested on Aug. 14, 2026
According to the Facebook post, the 41-year-old Florida man has been charged with carrying a concealed gun, felony possession of stolen goods or property, and felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
Officers Tracked the Trailer Down to a Truck Stop
When the arrest was made, Nightingale was found at a truck stop, where the accused reportedly struggled with the officers attempting to take him in. After he was taken into custody, officers obtained a search warrant for the trailer, where they located the stolen copper wire.
Nightingale was held under a $20,000 secured bond.
The Kenly Police Department Gave a Shoutout to the Other Agencies Involved
Because the alleged crimes spanned multiple jurisdictions, the Kenly Police Department says that it needed to work with other officers, who were thanked in the Facebook post.
“The Kenly Police Department would like to thank the Selma Police Department and Four Oaks Police Department for their assistance during this investigation,” the post said.
People Applauded the Officers in the Comments While Asking an Important Question About the Case
While the Facebook post was full of punny reactions to the crime (people couldn’t help but joke about how it all came “down to the wire”), several people asked how anyone could actually get away with offloading that much stolen wire.
“Like anyone showing up at the scrapyard with a truck full (or even a single pallet) of baled bare bright without some documentation wouldn’t raise suspicion,” one person wrote.
“How can when you go scrap copper and you got 300 pounds, they give you $15, but if you steal it from them it’s worth $258,000?” another person asked, generating responses speculating just how much copper wire goes for these days.
While these are definitely good questions, they’re probably not as important to the officers as the ones surrounding the rest of this case, including who the ringleader is when it comes to the suspected cargo theft operation that the Kenly Police Department says it’s still investigating.