Man charged as peeper

A Laurinburg man was charged after allegedly spying on a Laurel Hill woman.

Eric Elmore Barfield, 28, of Lytch Road, was arrested on Friday and charged with misdemeanor secret peeping, according to a sheriff's report. He was given a $500 unsecured bond and released.

The complainant was listed as Lora Howton of Laurel Hill. Howton and Barfield have a son together.

Barfield spent eight months in prison for assault by strangulation, assault on a female, drug possession, manufacturing narcotics and threatening someone on the phone, according to the state Department of Correction.

Reward offered for tractor

A Maxton man is offering a reward for a tractor he reported stolen.

Herbert McLeod, 61, of Rockingham Road, told deputies on Monday that someone stole his gray 1947 Ford tractor from a residence on Harris Road in Laurinburg, according to a sheriff's report. The tractor is worth $5,000.

McLeod said in a written statement that his tractor was seen traveling south on U.S. 501 from Harris where it then turned onto Wright Road and then Palmer Road.

The tractor has red rims and was stolen sometime between 7:30 p.m. on Sunday and 7 a.m. on Monday, he said.

Anyone with information can call the Scotland County Sheriff's Office at 276-3385.

McLeod can be reached at 384-1084.

Vandalism reported

Another downtown business has reported being struck by vandals.

Trophy Financial, Inc., located at 1301 Atkinson Street, had a brick thrown through it's window just after 10 p.m. on Monday, according to a Laurinburg police report. Damage was estimated at $100.

Police recovered part of a brick and entered it into evidence, the report said.

If you have information on the rash of vandalism, call Laurinburg police at 276-3211 or anonymously report your tip to Scotland Crime Stoppers at 291-3333.

Police investigate hit-and-run

Officers are looking for the driver of a car that struck a security guard then fled.

Ed Foster, 53, of Hope Mills told police on Saturday that he was making his rounds on foot as a security guard at J.W. Business Center when an unknown car struck him from behind, according to the Laurinburg police report.

An officer noted that Foster had abrasions on his right shoulder and right leg, the report said. Foster was taken to Scotland Memorial Hospital by EMS where he was treated and released.

If you have information on this crime, contact Laurinburg police at 276-3211.

Man knocked unconscious

Police found a 21 year old Wagram man unconscious after a fight.

Bryan Christopher McDonald, of Gorham Circle, was found on Hood Street by officers responding to reports of an assault in the neighborhood, according to a Laurinburg police report.

Police have identified two suspects in the crime, but the report did not say if either had been charged.

Juvenile jailed for B&E

A 15-year-old was arrested breaking into C & B Grocery on Caledonia Road, according to a Laurinburg police report.

The teen is charged with attempted breaking and entering, the report said.

Police responded to a report of a break-in at the grocery on Sunday when an officer noticed a male in an orange shirt and blue jeans fleeing into the woods, the report said. Officers set up a perimeter and were beginning to search for the suspect when he walked out from the woods and turned himself in.

Damage to the door was $100, according to the report.

Laurinburg police did not release the name of the teenager. It is The Laurinburg Exchange's policy not to print the names of juveniles accused of a crime.

Pair charged as burglars

Deputies charged two brothers in a March 28 burglary, according to sheriff's report.

Joshua Dale Norris, 19, of Creek Side Road, Laurinburg and Nathaniel Norris, 20, of Hardee Street, Laurel Hill, were both arrested on Friday and charged with burglary and larceny, the report said. They were released on written promises to appear in court.

The Norrises are among four who have been arrested for breaking into the Polar Bridge Road home of 40-year-old Cindy Hockman and stealing the dirt bike of 19-year-old Richard Charles Dunsford, of Old Wire Road, Laurel Hill.

Also charged in the crime was 17-year-old Shelby Dawn Farris, of Livingston Road, Gibson and 27-year-old Antwan O'Brian Lloyd, of Tartar Road, Laurinburg. Farris was charged with burglary and larceny, Lloyd was charged with receiving stolen property and conspiracy.

Alleged thief charged

A Laurinburg felon who once tried to escape prison was charged with stealing.

Ricky Wade, 40, of Tara Drive, was charged with misdemeanor larceny of Friday, according to a sheriff's report. He was released on a written promise to appear for court.

Wade has prior convictions for more than 20 past thefts and a slew of other crimes, including a prison escape in Robeson County and a robbery that left someone seriously injured, according to the state Department of Correction.

Second man charged in beer theft

Police have made a second arrest in the theft of beer from a distribution truck.

Christopher Vernon Crabtree, 23, was arrested at his Parliament Avenue home in Laurinburg on Friday and charged with burglary, larceny and conspiracy, according to a sheriff's report. He was placed in Scotland County jail under a $5,000 secured bond.

The first man arrested was 46-year-old Gary Parker of Francis Road in Gibson. He was also charged with burglary, larceny and conspiracy.

Healey Wholesale reported on May 11 that three cases of Old English Beer worth $47.90 and one case of Miller Lite worth $21.90 were stolen from one of their trucks while it was being unloaded at Farm and Country Store, according to a sheriff's report.

Safe raided for cash

Police are searching for a person who cracked a local safe and fled with some of it's contents.

Officers responding to a report of an open door on Saturday morning at the Quality Parts and Equipment Company on Rail Road Street in Laurinburg found the safe opened with items strewn across the floor near the safe, according to a Laurinburg police report. An unspecified amount of cash was taken from the scene.

Inmate charged

A Scotland County inmate incarcerated for attempted murder was charged in a more than three-year-old case.

Justin C. Haynes, 27, was served warrants from McDowell County at Scotland Correctional Institute on Monday charging him with conspiracy, according to a sheriff's report. The warrant was dated Sept. 21, 2006

He remains in prison while he awaits trial.

Haynes is more than a decade into a more than 30 year sentence for assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill inflicting serious injuries, according to the state Department of Correction. He is scheduled to be released on May 17, 2030.

He has been convicted of numerous other criminal offenses, including robbery with a dangerous weapons, two counts of assault inflicting serious bodily injury, three counts of drug possession, three counts of breaking and entering, one count of burglary, five counts of larceny and possessing stolen goods, according to DOC.

Coins stolen from news racks

Several news racks were broken into over the weekend.

Felicia Davis, an employee of The Fayetteville Observer, reported on Sunday that the company's news racks at Harris Teeter and Community Stop #3, both in Laurinburg, had the locks broken and quarters stolen, according to Laurinburg police reports. The thief made off with $30 in quarters.

Damage to the locks was $14, the report said.

Teen charged in bike theft

A teenager was arrested in the theft of a bicycle, according to a Laurinburg police report.

A 15-year-old boy was charged on Monday after he was found with a blue 15-speed bike worth $100 that was reported stolen by Billy Joe Hunt of First Street in Laurinburg, the report said.

Laurinburg police did not release the name of the teenager. It is The Laurinburg Exchange's policy not to print the names of juveniles accused of a crime.

Church A/C stolen

A church cooling unit was reported stolen over the weekend.

Novella McLauchlin, 81, told police on Sunday morning that someone stole a Frigidaire window air conditioner from the Holy Evangelistic Temple on North Caledonia Street, according to a Laurinburg police report.

The unit is valued at $300.

Stolen car recovered

A car reported stolen was recovered on Saturday.

Police found as gray 2000 Mercury Grand Marquise behind an abandoned home, according to a Laurinburg police report. The car was that of 50-year old Evone Fields Swindell, of N. Caledonia Road. In the car was Swindell's gray purse and some personal items also reported stolen.

The car is valued at $5,000.