Rural King Shoplifter ID’d and Arrested

CROSS LANES, WV – On February 22, 2026 at the Cross Lanes Rural King, a white male with a beard entered the store and allegedly attempted to steal to ammunition and other firearm related merchandise.

Loss prevention confronted the male and recovered some of the stolen property before becoming aggressive with employees and fleeing with more items concealed on his person. It is unknown at this time whether they left in a vehicle or on foot. A total of $469.92 was recovered from the male before fleeing.

The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office released the suspect’s photo to the public and thanks to your tips, we were able to identify the unknown suspect.

The male has been identified as James Wooten II and he was arrested for shoplifting. He was arraigned in Kanawha County Magistrate Court and released on a $250 PR Bond.

The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office greatly appreciates everyone’s assistance in helping us ID and locate the suspect in this incident.