Three Charged in Beaufort County Home Break-In
PINETOWN, N.C. – Authorities have arrested three individuals in connection with a break-in at a home in Beaufort County. Deputies responded to the incident early Friday morning, following a report involving a vehicle linked to the crime.
According to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, the initial report came in just after 4 a.m. from the Family Dollar/Dollar Tree on North Boyd Road in Pinetown. Investigators discovered that two suspects had traversed between the victim’s residence and the store, leaving footprints in the snow. Deputies tracked the footprints and found a third suspect in the vehicle, leading to an arrest.
While deputies searched the wooded area nearby, the two remaining suspects were not immediately located. However, they recovered stolen items believed to be connected to the crime.
Later that morning, at approximately 11:30 a.m., deputies received a tip about suspects entering the woods near Jefferson Road and North Boyd Road. A perimeter was quickly established, and authorities located and arrested the two suspects in the wooded area. Additional stolen property was also recovered during the operation.
The three suspects were identified as Angel Bass, 27, Joshua Johnson, 26, both of Bladenboro, and John Cooper Jr., 25, of Elizabethtown. Bass and Johnson face charges of felony breaking and entering, as well as felony larceny after breaking and entering. Bass was also charged with an outstanding warrant for failure to appear on a probation violation.
Cooper was charged with one count of felony accessory after the fact.
Bond amounts for the suspects were set as follows: Bass received a $27,500 secured bond, while Johnson and Cooper were each issued $2,500 secured bonds.
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office continues its investigation into the incident and the recovery of stolen property.
