Stolen Chocowinity gun used in Pa. robbery

Published 6:11 pm Thursday, May 10, 2012

Janice Ann Nick

Philadelphia, Pa., authorities recovered goods stolen from a Chocowinity home last month and arrested a woman suspected in the crimes on unrelated charges, said a press release from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

On April 7, the theft of a Buick Park Avenue, an AMT .45 handgun and four guitars from a Tar Heels Drive residence was reported to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. Prior to the crime, the suspect, Janice Ann Nick, 48, had been staying at a guesthouse on the property, said the release.

Nick had left the state and was arrested April 12 in Philadelphia after allegedly committing an armed robbery using the .45 stolen from the Chocowinity home. The two cases were connected when Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Brad Shackelford tracked Nick to Pennsylvania via her social media account.

Nick is currently incarcerated in Pennsylvania under a $305,000 secured bond. The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office has charged Nick with larceny of a motor vehicle, larceny of a firearm, felony breaking and entering and larceny after breaking and entering, but Nick will only be extradited back to North Carolina after she is released by the Pennsylvania courts and/or prison system, said Major Kenneth Watson.

According to the Philadelphia authorities, Nick had given one of the stolen guitars — a handcrafted Cimarron valued at $3500 — to a family member in Philadelphia. The car and the gun were also recovered.