Police say a Johnston County man masterminded from his wheelchair a far-reaching theft ring that for years stripped construction sites of everything from double front doors to heavy-gauge stainless steel kitchen sinks.

Police recovered enough stolen goods linked to construction sites in Cary and Apex alone to fill two tractor-trailers. It took 16 men nine hours to load the items and move them from Selma to Cary. Officers are trying to trace the materials back to their rightful owners.

"In 20 years, I've never seen anything closely resembling this," Lt. Steve Fonke of the Cary Police Department said Tuesday, standing in a storage room that looked like a builder's supply warehouse. "It really does kind of blow your mind, the sheer volume of it."

The cache included 50 appliances, 25 light fixtures, 203 windows, 143 doors, 22 tools, 368 boxes of hardwood and laminate flooring, 142 boxes of tile, 17 whirlpool tubs, seven water heaters and 21 sets of cabinets.

The town has stored it all in borrowed space in a shopping center. Porch columns lean against one wall in the room. Items have been sorted loosely by type. For some reason, there are no toilets.

Police have charged Clifton Ray Moore, 61, of 467 Gor-An Farm Road in Selma with possession of stolen property and drug trafficking. He faces similar stolen property charges in Johnston County connected to thefts there. He was freed on $255,000 bond.

Moore, reached at his home Tuesday evening, said he would need to speak with his attorney before making a comment.

An unexpected find

Selma Police Sgt. Ward Creech said officers were rounding up 28 drug suspects, culminating a six-month investigation, when they went to Moore's home on July 15 with a warrant for his arrest on charges of trafficking prescription drugs.

Moore, who uses his wheelchair most of the time, owns and operates Lynn Cliff Inc., a construction company, from his home. He also owns rental properties.

His criminal convictions include driving while impaired, driving without a license, having an open container of alcohol in the car, and possession of non-tax-paid liquor.

An officer who was at the home as the warrant was being served saw what he believed was marijuana inside Moore's pickup, Creech said. Moore gave officers permission to search the truck, where they found a half-ounce of marijuana. Police later returned with a warrant to conduct a larger search, Creech said.

When they looked through barns and storage buildings on the property, they found the building supplies, Creech said.

Goods appeared to have been taken from sites around Johnston County and elsewhere, some from out of state. Some of the items had already been installed and appeared to have been ripped or cut away; plumbing on some of the dishwashers and tubs had been severed, for instance.

Most items were still in their original crating or plastic, and many bore labels indicating the builder to whom they had been delivered and when, or the subdivision where they were to be installed.

Some bear signs of weathering and moisture damage. One officer speculated that because of the downturn in the construction industry with the struggling economy, the need for new materials diminished.

"He over-ordered," Fonke said.

Police have not said how many other people they think were involved, and have made no other arrests. The Johnston County Sheriff's Office is still investigating and says additional charges may be filed against Moore and that other arrests may follow.