An Elizabethton man and his juvenile brother face criminal charges after police say the pair broke into a home and stole prescription medication.
Sheriff’s deputies arrested 18-year-old Austin Lowe, 299 Roosevelt Ave., and charged him with aggravated burglary. Lowe’s brother, a juvenile whose name and age were not released, was also charged with aggravated burglary and he was transported to the Johnson City Juvenile Detention Center.
Deputies of the Carter County Sheriff’s Department responded to a home on the Bristol Highway Saturday afternoon after a man called 911 to report a break-in at the home. Christopher Lawrence told officers he left the home for a short time and when he returned, he discovered his prescription medication was missing.
After finding his medication gone, Lawrence said he went next door to speak with his landlord to see if she had noticed anything suspicious. While there, his landlord’s juvenile son admitted he and Lowe had entered the home and taken the medication.
“Mr. Lawrence stated (the juvenile) then showed him where they hid the medication,” CCSD Deputy Brian Smithpeters said, adding Lawrence recovered all but three pills from his prescription. “Prior to my arrival, Mr. Lawrence and (the juvenile) stated Austin ran into the woods and said he was not going back to jail.”
When Smithpeters spoke to the juvenile, the officer said the juvenile admitted to breaking into Lawrence’s home.
“(The juvenile) stated they knocked on the door but no one answered,” Smithpeters said, adding the juvenile said he and his brother crawled through a window to enter the home. “(He) stated Austin then grabbed the pill bottle and they left the residence.”
About three hours later, officers found Lowe and arrested him.
Lowe appeared in General Sessions Court on Monday and was bound over to the grand jury. Judge Keith Bowers Jr. set Lowe’s bond as a $1,000 corporate bond, which means Lowe must go through a professional bonding agency in order to post bond.