Cops: Riverhead man stole broken-down Volvo, sold it as scrap metal

A Riverhead man was arrested last week after he allegedly stole a broken-down car from an East Quogue home, then traded it for $470 in cash.

James Singleton, 51, was arrested Jan. 26 and charged with criminal possession of stolen property and first-degree filing a false instrument, both felonies, Southampton Town police said.

Cops say Mr. Singleton used a black tow truck to steal a 1992 Volvo, which was inoperable and had no license plates, from a driveway on Walker Avenue on Nov. 30 last year. Police located the car at Gershow Recycling Center in Medford, where it had been traded as scrap metal for $471 in cash.

Employees at the scrap metal center later alerted Southampton detectives and officers from the Suffolk County Police Auto Squad that Mr. Singleton had sold them the car.

Mr. Singleton was located and arrested after an investigation.