A 19-year-old Thomson man has been arrested in connection with a pair of residential break-ins in McDuffie County.
The suspect was identified as Travis Fielder, of the 1300 block of White Oak Road, according to jail records. He is charged with two counts of burglary and is being held at the McDuffie County Law Enforcement Center. McDuffie County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Mike Hobbs filed the charges against him on Tuesday.
Warren County authorities, meanwhile, want to question him about a recent break-in at a residence on Shurley Road near Warrenton, according to Warren County Sheriff's Department Sammy Purvis.
Deputies Purvis and William Gantt along with Sgt. Hobbs went to a residence on Cosby Road in Warren County on Monday, Feb. 16 seeking information. A man, identified as Michael Jeremy Ellis, reportedly was questioned about a welder they saw on the front porch of the residence. The welder was stolen in a recent burglary in McDuffie County.
Mr. Ellis was later placed in the back of Sgt. Hobbs' patrol car after reportedly denying any involvement in the burglary of the residence in Warren County. A few minutes later, Mr. Ellis supposedly told Sgt. Hobbs that he had purchased five guns from Mr. Fielder for $1,200.
Authorities have not filed any criminal charges against Mr. Ellis.
He then cooperated with deputies, leading them to a camper in the backyard of his residence where five rifles had been stored, Deputy Purvis said. The rifles were the same ones stolen in the Warren County burglary, he added, noting that serial numbers on the guns matched up. Mr. Ellis also showed them numerous rounds of ammunition.
All five of the rifles had scopes on them, including a sixth one recovered by Sgt. Hobbs during the course of another investigation into a residential break-in that occurred on Feb. 6 in McDuffie County.
