Three men face felony charges in connection with a burglary after police received some help from a quick-thinking witness to the crime.
Police arrested Roderick Rajay Topey, 18, of 400 W. Chilhowie St., Johnson City, Darveon Rashaad Terrell, 18, of 4785 Winchester Road, Memphis, and Tobias Joe Plater, 28, 1082 E. 15th St., Winston-Salem, N.C., and charged each with one count of aggravated burglary and one count of theft of property over $1,000.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Carter County Sheriff’s Department received a report of a residential burglary at 133 Greendale Road, Apt. 3, Elizabethton. The resident, John Frye, told CCSD Deputy Jason Mosier someone had broken into his apartment and stolen several items, including a 40-inch television, a gaming console, a Kindle tablet, golf clubs and two pocket knives — one black and green with skulls on the handle and one yellow with skulls on the handle.
At the scene, Mosier spoke with a witness who said he saw two black men carrying items out of the apartment and placing them in a Nissan Altima driven by a third black man. The witness was able to take a picture of the car and its license plate, CCSD Capt. Mike Little said.
“The victim, John Frye, advised me that he recognized the vehicle as belonging to a former resident of the apartment complex and recalled the subject as being a black man with dreadlocks with the last name of Plater,” Little said.
Officers checked the license plate number and learned the car was registered to a woman with a Johnson City address.
Little and other officers went to the address listed on the vehicle registration and found the car in the driveway of the home. A neighbor directed officers to a garage detached garage behind the home, Little said. The officers found Plater, Topey and Terrell inside, he said.
“I photographed all three — Plater, Topey and Terrell — and sent the photographs to Lt. Michael Bean,” Little said. “Lt. Bean in turn showed the photographs to the witness, who positively identified the three as being the individuals who were involved in the burglary.”
Officers then arrested the three men. While searching the men after their arrest, officers foound two knives in Terrell’s pants pocket that matched the description of the knives stolen from Frye’s apartment.
Topey, Terrell and Plater are being held at the Carter County Detention Center under $10,000 bond each.
They are scheduled to appear in General Sessions Court June 9, but no court date has been set for their arraignment at this time.