8 hours ago
Harnett man charged with theft of vehicle
A southwest Harnett County man was charged with larceny of a motor vehicle stemming from June 20.
Christopher David Yates, 52, of the 2200 block of Marks Road in southwest Harnett County, allegedly stole a while 2005 Chrysler 300 valued at $2,800 from Tyler McCandless, an arrest warrant states.
Yates was held in the Harnett County Jail on $10,000 bond, but was not listed in the jail roster as of Friday morning, June 27.
A misdemeanor second-degree trespassing charge against him stemming from March 3, 2024 was dismissed, according to eCourts. No reason was given.
However, Yates made an Alford plea on April 7 to felony failure to report a death stemming from May 25, 2023. In that case, Sanford resident Silvanus Nicquan Verbal, 38, died, but he did not die of natural causes, according to a court document. In an Alford plea, one does not admit guilt but acknowledges that the prosecution has enough evidence for a conviction.
At that time, Yates listed an address in the 500 block of W. Main St. in Wallace in southeast North Carolina.
He was arrested on May 27, 2023 and posted a $10,000 bond three days later. However, Yates failed to appear in court twice and was re-arrested on Sept. 8, 2023. He posted a $75,000 bond on Dec. 30, 2023.
He was given credit for 118 days in jail and given a suspended sentence of four to 14 months and placed on unsupervised probation. He was ordered to pay fines and fees of $1,725. As of Friday, the amount due was $1,948, according to eCourts.
Yates pleaded guilty on Oct. 11, 2022 to larceny by using a merchant's emergency exit door in Harnett County. He was given unsupervised probation for a year with credit for two days in jail. Felony charges of conspiracy and possession of stolen goods were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
According to a court document, Yates said he has a bachelor's degree in robotics.
