ROCKINGHAM — Deputies reportedly found drugs in a truck suspected to have been used in a recent theft.
A resident of Lakeview Trail reported Tuesday afternoon that several fence panels had been taken from his yard and that the suspects were two men in a green truck, according to a press release issued Wednesday by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.
One of the responding deputies saw the suspect vehicle and conducted a traffic stop while the other went to speak to the alleged victim, according to the release.
The victim reportedly showed the deputy video of the suspects and said he had placed Apple air tags on the stolen panels because of previous thefts.
Meanwhile, the deputy who stopped the truck identified the occupants as 35-year-old Jonathan Keith Owens of Rockingham and 48-year-old Shawn Garrison of Hamlet.
A search of the truck turned up suspected heroin and several prescription pills, according to the sheriff’s office, and the stolen property was returned to the victim.
Garrison was arrested and charged with possession of heroin, possession of a Schedule I controlled substance, simple possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, misdemeanor larceny and possession of stolen property and booked into the Richmond County Jail under a $15,000 secured bond.
Owens was charged with possession of a Schedule I controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, misdemeanor larceny and possession of stolen goods and is being held on a $10,000 secured bond.
Deputies also served Owens with an outstanding order for arrest for failure to pay child support, for which he is being held on a $18,437.60 cash bond.
They are scheduled to appear in court May 5 on the theft and drug charges.
Online court records show Garrison also has a May 26 court date on several traffic infractions, including driving with a revoked license and without insurance.
Owens is slated to appear in Richmond County Superior Court on June 13 on charges from 2020 of felony larceny, obtaining property by false pretenses and first-degree trespassing.
Records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction show Garrison was previously convicted in 2007 of use or possession of drug paraphernalia; in 2009 of driving while impaired; and in 2014 of assault on a female.
Owens appears to have no prior convictions in the state.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
