PRESTONSBURG, Ky. (WMDJ) — Two Floyd County men were arrested Thursday after deputies said a traffic stop led to the discovery of stolen telecommunications cable, a stolen propane tank and firearms with altered serial numbers.

According to arrest citations, Floyd County Sheriff's Deputy Brian Kidd stopped a 1998 Toyota Corolla on Ky. 194 in the Endicott community after noticing the vehicle did not have a visible license plate.

The driver, Ronald Johnson, 42, of Prestonsburg, allegedly admitted he had taken a propane tank reported stolen from a business in Endicott the previous day. During the investigation, Deputy Brian Walker noticed what appeared to be telecommunications cable protruding from the vehicle's trunk. Deputies reported finding approximately 500 feet of cable they believed belonged to AT&T.

Johnson allegedly told deputies that he and passenger Gary Matthew Burchett, 37, of Prestonsburg, had cut and stolen the cable from the Lower Johns Creek area of Pike County. Deputies also reported finding battery-operated cable cutters, a piece of wire believed to have been used to cut the cable, and three long guns with serial numbers that appeared to have been removed.

Burchett denied participating in the cable theft, according to his citation, and told deputies he did not know why Johnson had implicated him.

Johnson was charged with first-degree criminal mischief, defacing a firearm, failure of owner to maintain required insurance, failure to register a motor vehicle transfer, no registration receipt and operating a vehicle without a registration plate. Burchett was charged with first-degree criminal mischief and defacing a firearm.