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Lincoln County deputies have arrested one man and are looking for at least one other suspect after a home break-in in the southern part of the county.
The sheriff’s office said the homeowner discovered the break-in in progress when he returned to his residence on Laboratory Road around 1:10 p.m. Tuesday and found a car and several males in his driveway.
The victim called 911, but authorities said the men took off in the car, which was described as a silver 2012 Ford Focus. Meanwhile, another man exited the home before stealing and taking off in the victim’s burgundy van, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
The sheriff’s office said the suspect was tracked as he drove the van along Gaston-Webbs Chapel Road and Gastonia Highway toward Lincolnton.
At one point, authorities said a tire on the van went flat and the vehicle crashed near Southside Church Road. The suspect jumped from the vehicle but was apprehended by a sheriff’s deputies, authorities said.
Deputies also recovered several items from the victim’s residence, according to the news release.
The suspect who was apprehended was identified as Jamen Lee Cowen, a 23-year-old from Newton. He faces multiple criminal and traffic charges, including breaking and entering and larceny of a motor vehicle. Cowen was being held in jail Wednesday under a $35,000 bond.
The sheriff’s office said it was looking for at least one person in connection with the break-in, though a description of the suspect was not immediately available on Wednesday.
Anyone with information about the break-in, including the second vehicle that was involved, is asked to call the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office at 704-732-9050 or Crime Stoppers at 704-736-8909.
