UPDATE: Burglary victims awaken to find suspect in their bedroom
By Steve Herring
Published in News on July 3, 2017 12:19 PM
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News-Argus/STEVE HERRING
Wayne County Sheriff Larry Pierce, second from left, talks with deputies and members of his command staff Monday morning concerning the ground and air searches for a suspect being sought in connection with three break-ins earlier Monday in the Spring Bank Road and N.C. 111 South area.
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News-Argus/STEVE HERRING
Wayne County Sheriff's Major Richard Lewis, center, updates Sheriff Larry Pierce, right, and Sgt. Jason Sasser Monday morning concerning the search for a suspect wanted in connection with three break-ins earlier that morning.
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News-Argus/STEVE HERRING
The Wayne County Sheriff's Office helicopter hovers over a stand of trees in the Spring Bank Road/N.C. 11 South area early Monday morning searching for the suspect in three breaking and enterings. The office's K-9 unit searched as well.
The Wayne County Sheriff's Office helicopter and K-9 units Monday morning searched for a suspect in a series of break-ins in the area of Spring Bank Road and N.C. 111 South.
No one was injured in the break-ins, but on two occasions the suspect was in the bedroom when the victims woke up, Sheriff Larry Pierce said.
"We are looking for what we believe to be a white male, slender build, approximately 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 11 inches and 150 to 160 pounds," Pierce said.
The suspect was described as wearing a white T-shirt and possibly walking with a limp, Pierce said.
"The last place that was broken into, the subject removed a pink-colored towel with white polka-dots that he had wrapped around his head when the victim woke up and he fled," Pierce said.
"We are just looking through the area to see if we see any crops are mashed down where he might have fled through, anything of that nature. At this time we are not sure if he was on foot or had a car parked somewhere."
Pierce said it is believed that the same person committed all of the break-ins. Even though the area is spread out, it is a concentrated area to some degree, he said.
"We are getting the same description from everybody," he said.
@newsargus Wayne County deputies used it's K9 and helicopter units Monday morning to search for a suspect in three early morning break-ins. pic.twitter.com/5LdWAXEKDy
— Steve Herring (@MyWriteStuff) July 3, 2017
The suspect used a couple different ways to enter the homes, Pierce said.
But he said that information would not be released at the moment since interviews were still being conducted.
The first call came in at approximately 2 a.m. Monday that a house had been broken into. While deputies were there, additional calls were received from the same area, Pierce said.
"As late as 6:30 this morning we had another call even though we had that area saturated -- approximately a half a mile away we had another call about another break-in where the subject was inside the house when the lady woke up," Pierce said. "Anybody in the area of the Spring Bank Road, (N.C.) 111 South area happens to see anyone matching this description waking definitely call 911 immediately and let us respond to the area."
"We just ask that everybody take caution and call us immediately if they see anything that they want us to check out. We just ask that everybody be vigilant and keep their eyes open."
Anyone who has any information that may assist in the investigation are asked to contact the Wayne County Sheriff's Office at 919-731-1481 or Wayne County Crimestoppers at 919-735-2255.