LENOIR, NC (January 3, 2019) — On January 3rd, 2019 at 9:09 am officers with the Lenoir Police Department responded to an alarm at the South Lenoir Church of God, which is located at 1786 Hickory Blvd. Lenoir, NC. Once on the scene officers located an open door. As officers were searching, it became obvious that one of the offices within the church was broken into. It appeared that someone forced the door open and caused damage. The officers reviewed the security camera video and were able to locate the suspect and identify that he was driving a black Ford F-150 with a camper shell on the back.
A short time later a Narcotics officer with the Lenoir Police Department located the suspect’s vehicle in the Wal-Mart parking lot located at 935 Blowing Rock Blvd. Lenoir, NC. Officers searched Wal-Mart and located the suspect who was identified as Clayton Eugene Darr. Darr was later arrested and charged with Breaking and Entering into a Place of Worship. He received a $30,000.00 secured bond and an initial court date of 01-04-2019.
Investigators are still determining if anything was stolen from within the church. The damage to the interior door was valued at $250.00. Chief Brent Phelps said “It is sad when anybody is victimized by another person, but it is especially concerning when individuals decide to victimize a place of worship. I’m proud of the diligent work by our responding officers and the alert narcotics officer that located the suspect vehicle and then the suspect within a short time period. Mr. Darr being located this quickly is an example of professional police work.”