Man charged with several break-ins
By Jack Stephens
Published in News on July 18, 2004 2:00 AM
Officers say they believe numerous residential break-ins in Wayne and other counties have been solved with the arrest of a 22-year-old man from Sanford.
Mitchell Jermaine Percell was arrested by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office and charged with 13 felony offenses in connection with six break-ins.
Percell was charged with five counts of breaking and entering, three counts of possession of stolen goods, four counts of credit card fraud and one count of financial identity fraud.
The break-ins occurred on Club Knolls Road, Baker Chapel Church Road, O'Berry Road, Old Grantham Road, Jordans Chapel Road and Creekside Drive in Wayne County. Some stolen property has been recovered and will be returned to the owners, detectives said.
Wayne County Sheriff Carey Winders said Friday that the assistance of concerned citizens helped the investigation.
"Citizens of our county provided vital information and descriptions that helped officers identify the culprits and the vehicle used in the crimes," the sheriff said. "It makes law-enforcement officers work easier when citizens assist in providing such valuable information."
Percell was placed in the Wayne County Jail in lieu of a $100,000 secured bond. He had a first court appearance Friday to determine his legal representation.
Other charges and arrests are possible, detectives said, and the investigation has not been completed.
"I would like to express my appreciation to the hard work contributed in this investigation by my detective division and the cooperation from the Lenoir County Sheriff's Office's detective division," Winders said.
Detective Sgts. Ray Brogden and Tony Morris and Detective Robert Chunn investigated the cases and arrested Percell. They were assisted by other detectives, patrol deputies and school resource officers.