A West Columbia man has been charged in connection to a chop shop deputies found this month after following a tip about a stolen excavator.

Terry Virgil Adams, 42, is charged with four counts of possession of a stolen vehicle, and one count of operating a chop shop, according to arrest warrants.

“Investigators from Saluda County told us the excavator was spotted on Otis Road in Pelion,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said. “We responded to find the excavator parked in a driveway and its vehicle identification number had been scratched off.”

In addition to the excavator, detectives found a stolen trailer, a stolen truck and a stolen motorcycle on the same property in the 200 block of Otis Road, according to Koon.

“Based on the removal or alteration to the vehicle identification numbers on these items, investigators also charged Adams with operating a chop shop,” Koon said.

Deputies arrested Adams at the Otis Road home. He’s being held in the Lexington County Detention Center.