First Posted: 1/15/2009

LUMBERTON - A Fairmont police officer was arrested Thursday night and charged with multiple counts of receiving stolen property, according to sheriff's Maj. Willie Watson.
Ronald Williams, 50, of 922 Rim Road, was charged with three felony counts of receiving stolen property and felony aiding and abetting possession of stolen goods. Williams was released after posted a $5,000 bond.
Williams was suspended and placed on unpaid administrative leave last November after sheriff's investigators said they found more than $2,000 worth of stolen property inside his former Lumberton home. Investigators said they also found a stolen car in his back yard.
Sheriff's Detectives Chris Germaine and Shawn Gibson arrested Williams Thursday night at his new home in Fayetteville.
Williams has a total of 23 years experience with the Lumberton Police Department and the Fairmont Police Department. He has worked for the Fairmont Police Department since 2000.
Fairmont Police Chief Robert Hassell, who started his first official day of work today, referred all questions to the Interim Town Manager Katrina Tatum, but Tatum was not in the office and could not be reached for comment.
In November, investigators said they found stolen property in Williams' Norment Road home. Williams' two sons - Christopher Ronald Williams and Craig French - were both arrested at that time.
Investigators say they found VCRs and DVD players, stereo equipment and two televisions in the home. About $500 worth of tools and a .22-caliber rifle were also found in the home, they said, and a 1991 Ford Taurus was found in the back yard.
Kenyatta French, another of Williams' sons, gave investigators consent to search the home. A sheriff's dog found Craig French, Christopher Williams, and a third man, Calvin Lee Maynor, hiding in a crawl space in the attic.
Maynor has been charged with breaking and entering, larceny and possession of a stolen vehicle, all felonies. Christopher Ronald Williams was charged with breaking and entering, larceny and failure to appear. Craig French was charged with multiple failures to appear.
Kenyatta French has not been charged with a crime.