A South Carolina man faces criminal charges after police say he broke into a city church and stole several items.
Elizabethton Police Department Cpl. Matthew Taylor arrested Gregory “Ryan” Boyd, 24, 152 New Ridge Road, Aiken, S.C., on Thursday on a warrant charging him with burglary and theft from a building.
According to court documents, the charges against Boyd stem from an investigation that began on Dec. 31. On that day, officers with the EPD spoke with Jody Shuffler who reported his wife Lindsey Shuffler and Boyd had borrowed his car and when they returned he found several boxes and containers inside the vehicle. He told officers the two had taken his car between 3 and 3:30 a.m. that day and returned between 7 and 7:30 a.m.
An investigation revealed the items to be property stolen during a burglary to Southside Christian Church, located at 1605 Southside Road, EPD Detective Joe Harrah said.
Jody Shuffler told officers he knew the items were not in his vehicle when he parked it at his mother-in-law’s residence on South Hills Drive but the items were in the vehicle when his wife and Boyd returned.
“Mrs. Shuffler was injured by the vehicle when Mr. Shuffler tried to leave her at South Hills and she attempted to get her purse and phone from the vehicle,” Harrah said.
Lindsey Shuffler was transported to the Johnson City Medical Center for treatment of a head injury. Harrah said he spoke with her at the hospital and she said she remembered being at a church that night but that was all she recalled.
During the investigation, Harrah also spoke with Boyd. “He stated that he and Mrs. Shuffler had gone to Walmart and were gone less than an hour and came right back,” Harrah said, adding witnesses at the home on South Hills Drive told officers Boyd and Lindsey Shuffler were both gone for a long time.
During an interview with Lindsey Shuffler, Harrah said she told him the items were not in the car when they left South Hills Drive but were there when they returned. She also told the officer Boyd had given her “three nerve pills” and due to the head injury she suffered she was not able to recall things clearly.
“She did advise that she remembered being parked in the road beside the church; however, she stated that she did not go into the church and she did not know that ‘Ryan’ Boyd was going to break in and steal anything,” Harrah said.
According to court documents, the value of the items stolen from the church is approximately $750.
Boyd appeared in Carter County General Sessions Court on Friday for arraignment. Judge Keith Bowers Jr. set his bond as a $1,500 corporate bond, which means Boyd will have to go through a professional bonding agency in order to post bail and be released from jail. Bowers scheduled Boyd to return to court on Jan. 17.