CALDWELL COUNTY, NC (March 10, 2017)…Darrell Eric Corpening, will spend the next five years in prison after pleading guilty to property crimes and admission of his habitual felon status during Caldwell County Superior Court on Thursday, March 9, 2017.
Corpening was issued an active prison term of five to seven years by the Honorable Daniel A. Kuehnert, Superior Court Judge from Burke County, after he entered a guilty plea to two counts of breaking and entering a motor vehicle and two counts of felony possession of stolen goods. He will serve the sentence in custody of the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections.
The defendant’s sentence was enhanced by his habitual felon status, stemming from prior felony convictions for breaking and/or entering (April 1988), first-degree burglary (January 1993) and possession of stolen goods (May 2001), all in Caldwell County.
On March 1, 2015, a report was given to law enforcement about a man entering motor vehicles and looking for items inside them. The individual left the scene in another vehicle but was later located and found to be in possession of items reported missing by the two vehicle owners when a search of the vehicle he was in was conducted.
Three months later, deputies responded to a home invasion with reports of numerous items missing, including a distinctive glass change jar. A search of Corpening’s residence led to the recovery of the change jar in addition to other items taken from the victim’s residence.
Lenoir Police Department investigated the vehicle break-ins, and the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office investigated the home invasion. Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Mathews handled prosecution for the State.