COURTLAND
A suspect is now in custody for the June 22 burglary of Grigg’s Lawn and Tractor on Southampton Parkway in Courtland. This information comes from Lt. Camden Cobb, spokesman for the Southampton County Sheriff’s Office.

Southampton County deputies were able to secure warrants against Brian Cherry, 50, of Murfreesboro, North Carolina, on July 7 for burglary and grand larceny. Cherry was arrested by North Carolina authorities on July 8.

The Murfreesboro Police Department brought additional charges against Cherry for burglary and larceny from a business in the town of Murfreesboro. Cherry is being held in the Hertford County Jail. As of Friday he did not have a court date set in Virginia.

According to Cobb, Cherry was considered a suspect in this case from the beginning of the investigation, but there was not enough evidence for criminal charges. A break in the case came when the owners of Grigg’s Lawn and Tractor saw an online ad for a brand new Echo string trimmer, and they alerted authorities that it was possibly one that had been stolen during the burglary. The follow-up investigation to this lead verified that the piece of equipment was one that had been stolen during the burglary, and investigators were able to directly link the item to Cherry.

To date, investigators have been able to recover two of the string trimmers and four of the chainsaws that were stolen during this burglary.

Southampton deputies and officers with the Murfreesboro Police Department worked closely to solve both cases.