WCSO Strike Team gets indictments on two in farm burglary case

Published 10:48 am Friday, July 21, 2023

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JONESBOROUGH – The Washington County Grand Jury handed down two indictments for burglary in a case worked by the Washington County Sheriff’s Strike Team.

Charles Casey Payne, 31, of Limestone, and Jason A. Phillips, 38, of Jonesborough, were indicted on the charges July 10. Payne was in custody and served with the new charges on July 14 and Phillips turned himself in to deputies on July 20.

According to Sheriff Keith Sexton, the charges stem from a 2022 burglary of a farm on Corby Bridge Road in Limestone. More than $38,000 worth of equipment, firearms and personal items, including a John Deere Gator, utility trailer, collector knives and hand tools, were taken from the farm’s office and outbuildings.

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“The Sheriff’s Strike Team is a criminal interdiction team appointed to specifically target all types of criminal activity in the county,” Sheriff Sexton said.

Both Payne and Phillips are being held in the Washington County Detention Center, each with a $10,000 bond, for burglary and theft of property over $10,000. Court dates are pending.