COLUMBIA -- A Columbia man was arrested Friday as he tried to sell a load of stolen metal.  Forty-four-year-old Ronald D. Nole, of 4816-B Meadowlark Lane, was arrested Friday for felony stealing.  Nole also faces charges of driving under revocation and three outstanding warrants for failure to appear for a court date.

Boone County deputies were looking for Nole after employees at Gibbs Company on Ponderosa saw a truck drive off Thursday morning with a load of steel pipes. Employees got a license plate number as the truck sped off.  After taking an inventory, Gibbs thinks $64,000 worth of metal was taken over the past several weeks.  Nole lived just blocks away from the Gibbs site.

A deputy investigating the case spotted Nole at Advantage Metal Recycling on North Proctor Road Friday. Nole was apparently trying to sell a load of steel. Police say Nole had been turning steel into cash for the past six weeks.