Police: Man Arrested for Alleged Theft of Air Conditioning Unit

A 38-year-old Lexington man was arrested Friday for allegedly stealing an air conditioning unit worth about $2,000 from outside a home near West Columbia.

Anthony Ray Oxendine, of 121 Longview Road, was arrested on charges of grand larceny, damaging real property in an effort to obtain non-ferrous metals, using a motor vehicle without the owner’s permission and driving a motor vehicle with a suspended driver’s license, according to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.

Deputies say a neighbor called police after seeing a man stealing an air conditioning unit from a home on Scenic Drive.

Oxendine then drove to a metal recycling company on South Lake Drive near Lexington and tried to sell the air conditioning unit, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

Deputies say Oxendine used someone else’s car to transport the air conditioning unit to the recycling company, which was later recovered by authorities.

Oxendine was being held on Saturday at the Lexington County Detention Center on bail totaling $30,652.

Anyone with information about additional criminal activity involving Oxendine is asked to call the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department at 803-785-8230 or CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC. Citizens also can provide information anonymously by accessing the Crime Tip link on the Sheriff’s Department web site.