Suspected thief on ice in frozen-food caper

Fayetteville, N.C. — Cumberland County investigators charged a Stedman man Monday in the Halloween theft of a truck loaded with frozen food.

Stephen David McWhorter, 49, of 6116 Rosebud Road, is charged with larceny and possession of a stolen motor vehicle. He was being held in the Cumberland County Detention Center under a $15,000 bond.

A Schwann’s delivery truck was taken from a secured company lot, at 3500 Masonboro Court in Fayetteville, at about 10 p.m. Oct. 31,  authorities said. The thief broke a passenger-side window and hot-wired the truck, authorities said.

The $50,000 truck was found abandoned along a highway in Sampson County. The locks to the refrigerated compartment had been removed, authorities said.

More than $3,000 in frozen food was found in a freezer in a storage building outside McWhorter's home, authorities said.

McWhorter also faces larceny charges from South Carolina, and authorities said they plan to file additional charges against him from Fayetteville and Lee County.