Granite Falls man to spend at least six years in prison for being a habitual felon

LENOIR, NC (November 3, 2017)…A Granite Falls resident will spend at least the next six years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple criminal charges and admitting to being a habitual felon during Caldwell County Superior Court on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017.

Thirty-two-year-old Michael Brandon Beane pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine, possession with intent to sell/deliver methamphetamine and two counts of breaking/entering. The Honorable Daniel A. Kuehnert, Superior Court Judge from Burke County, sentenced Beane to spend six to eight years in custody of the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections.

The sentence imposed by Judge Kuehnert was enhanced by Bean’s habitual status felon that came from prior convictions for felony breaking/entering (2010 and 2011) and felony larceny (2015), all in Caldwell County.

On Aug. 5, 2016, officers with Hudson Police Department served an arrest warrant on the defendant for charges in Catawba County. As he was being arrested, Beane took a small pouch out of his pocket and tossed it to the ground. The pouch was retrieved and found to contain methamphetamine.

On Dec. 20, 2016, Beane broke into a Granite Falls residence and stole various items of jewelry, electronics and Christmas presents. Investigators from Granite Falls Police Department located several pieces of the stolen jewelry at a nearby pawn shop and traced them and the related break-in back to the defendant.

On Dec. 21, 2016, narcotics detectives and SWAT members from the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at a Granite Falls residence where detectives previously had made an undercover drug purchase from Beane. Several complaints were lodged about the defendant dealing drugs from the residence. During a search of the home, detectives found methamphetamine and various items of drug paraphernalia.

On Dec. 27, 2016, officers from Granite Falls Police Department responded to a report of a stolen vehicle from a gas station. The victim went inside the store to pay for gas, but his pickup truck was stolen while he was away. The store clerk told officers she witnessed the theft and recognized Beane as the suspect. Officers went to his Granite Falls residence and found the truck in the driveway. He was found inside the residence, and his appearance matched video surveillance images from the store’s security system.

The cases were investigated by Det. Clint Ferguson of Granite Falls Police Department, Officer Brandon Nelson of Hudson Police Department, and narcotics detectives and SWAT members of the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office. Nancy Lee and Jennifer C. Mathews prosecuted on behalf of the District Attorney’s Office.