Suspect in vehicle thefts at large
Published 10:03 pm Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Investigation of two vehicle thefts has led to the arrest of three Washington men and a fourth one is still at large, according to a press release from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Paul Robin Jordan, 45, of Randolph Road, Guy Wayne Sprouse, 22, of Hal’s Lane, and Randy Quinn Opharrow, 27, of Wilson Street, turned themselves in on Dec. 14, after warrants were issued for their arrests.
The three were wanted in connection to two vehicle thefts, one on Oct. 30, the other, on Nov. 14. Both vehicles, a 1989 Oldsmobile and a 1986 Chevy S10 pickup truck, were stolen from the same victim, said Maj. Kenneth Watson, spokesman for the sheriff’s department.
The vehicles were taken to EJE Recycling, just over the Pitt-Beaufort County line, and were sold for scrap metal, netting between $200 and $300 a piece, Watson said.
Sprouse and Jordan were charged with one count each of larceny of a motor vehicle for the October crime. For the November theft, Jordan and Opharrow were both charged with one count each of breaking and entering a motor vehicle and larceny of a motor vehicle, and a warrant has been issued charging a fourth man, Darnell Maurice Hooks, 34, of Tenth Street, with larceny of a motor vehicle.
Sprouse and Hooks also face charges of obtaining property by false pretenses in Pitt County for the sale of the stolen vehicles to the recycling business, said the release.
Watson said some of the defendants are suspects in other larcenies, as well.
Darnell Hooks is still at large, according law enforcement officials. The sheriff’s office is asking anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact Beaufort County Crime Stoppers by phone, text or through their website. Call 252-974-6400; text a tip anonymously by dialing 274637 on a cellphone and in the body of the message, type BCSO131 and the tip; or submit a tip through the Crime Stoppers website, www.beaufortcountycrimestoppers.com, by following the “Tip Line” link and filling out an online form. Calls, texts and emails are anonymous. Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 for information leading to Hooks’ arrest.