The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office announced several felony charges against a Florida man on Friday following an investigation into a larceny and fraudulent use of credit cards last week.
A release from the sheriff’s office said James Dwane Hayden of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, faces first-degree burglary, breaking or entering a motor vehicle with theft, larceny after breaking or entering, obtaining property by false pretenses, and two counts of financial card theft stemming from Dec. 24. At the time, residents along Bennett Mountain Trace — a road in the Briar Chapel neighborhood in the northeastern part of Chatham County — reported someone entering their garage. The suspect then got into an unlocked vehicle at the house and stole a wallet containing two cards for Lowe’s Home Improvement and Home Depot stores.
Following the victim’s report, law enforcement investigators determined the stolen cards were used later that morning, with one purchase tracked down at the Lowe’s along Fordham Boulevard in Chapel Hill, another successfully made at a Home Depot in Durham, and a third transaction was declined at a Lowe’s in Durham. Friday’s release said investigators then reviewed surveillance footage from the stores and saw a white male using the stolen cards to make the purchases.
The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office said Hayden was identified as the suspect thanks to “additional verification measures,” including inmate photographs and tattoo comparisons since the Florida residents has a distinctive, large neck tattoo. His arrest warrants have not yet been served, according to Friday’s release.
Despite not being in custody of Chatham County authorities, Hayden’s first court appearance over the felony charges is already set. He is slated to appear in Chatham County District Court at the Chatham County Justice Center in Pittsboro on Feb. 9.
Featured photo via Google Maps.
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