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Union County police say they have broken up a crime ring responsible for dozens of burglaries in their county, and possibly many more in six other North Carolina counties.
Three suspects from Stanly County have been arrested and are being held in the Union County Jail.
Union County Sheriff Eddie Cathey said police think the three were involved in at least 23 cases in Union County.
They were caught after a tip from the public and alert work by a Union County sheriff's deputy, police say.
The sheriff's office said it had been dealing with home burglaries for two months, mostly in the northern part of Union County. Typically, the burglars forced open a door or broke glass in the rear of the home. The thieves usually took electronics, appliances, furniture and small safes.
In several cases, Cathey said, the burglars took wrapped presents from under Christmas trees.
A break in the case came Dec. 16, Cathey said, when a witness reported seeing a white van at the site of a burglary. Later that day, Deputy Jackson Bordeaux spotted a similar vehicle on Morgan Mill Road, north of Monroe, operating suspiciously.
Bordeaux followed the van, then pulled it over. Police say the deputy found a motorcycle and four-wheeler that had been stolen earlier in the day from a home. Two men inside the van were arrested, and a third man was arrested two days later.
Tommy Lee Lilly, 24, of Albemarle, faces 48 charges and is being held on $320,000 bond. Jaymes Dean Goss Hartis, 22, of Albemarle, faces 32 charges and has a $260,000 bond. Jason Dennis Braley, 25, faces 34 charges and is being held on $260,000 bond.
Police say they think the suspects are responsible for burglaries between Oct. 17 and Dec. 16 on Chaney, Clarksville Campground, Doster, East Brief, Love Mill, Morgan Mill, New Hope Church, New Salem, Old Ferry, Old Pageland-Monroe, Olive Branch, Sandy Ridge, Sikes Mill, Smithfield and West Unionville-Indian Trail roads; Concord Highway; and N.C. 205.
Cathey said police also are investigating whether the suspects were involved in burglaries in Anson, Cabarrus, Davidson, Montgomery, Rowan and Stanly counties.
