Sheriff's office arrests three, searches for two in burglary ring

On Nov. 4, The Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office arrested three suspects in connection with a series of burglaries that occurred between Sept. 9 and Oct. 14.

Joseph Andrew Stroud, 19, of Murphy Road, Pink Hill was charged with nine counts of breaking and entering, eight counts of larceny, one count of possession of stolen goods, one count of obtaining property by false pretense, one count of larceny of a firearm and one count of possession of firearm by a felon. Stroud is being held in the Lenoir County Jail under a $30,000 secured bond.

Melanie Pope, 20, of Burkett Road, Dover, was charged with two counts of breaking and entering, two counts of larceny and one count of obtaining property by false pretense. Pope is being held under a $6,000 bond.

Mercell “PJ” Suggs, 22, of Browntown Road in Snow Hill, was charged with one count of breaking and entering, two counts of larceny and two counts of obtaining property by false pretense. Suggs is being held under a $6,000 bond.

Capt. James Oldenburg of the LCSO said the suspects were tracked down after a portion of the stolen property was discovered.

“The discovery of the stolen property led to the arrests of Stroud, Pope and Suggs,” Oldenburg said. “The items stolen were predominantly guns, jewelry and televisions.”

Oldenburg said he could not discuss how the stolen property was located.

“The investigation is ongoing; we can’t release anymore information at this time,” Oldenburg said.

The LCSO is also searching for Mandy Faye Locklear, 32, of Fields Station Road, La Grange, and Robert Earl “J-Roc” Jones Jr., 23, of Tapp Farm Road, Pink Hill.

“Locklear and Jones are wanted for breaking into the same businesses and residences as Stroud, Pope and Suggs,” Oldenburg said.

Locklear is believed to be in the Duplin or Jones county areas, while Jones is believed to have family and friends in Duplin and Bladen counties.

If anyone has information on the whereabouts of either suspect, Oldenburg said they can report their information to the LCSO and remain completely anonymous. Anyone with information is asked to contact Lenoir County Crimestoppers at 252-523-4444, or the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office detective division at 252-559-6140.