Bond raised for suspect accused of breaking into more than 20 homes

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A Duplin County man is in jail in Bladen County under $1.5 million bond accused of breaking into at least 20 homes.

Investigators arrested James Calvin King, 29, of Teachey, around 7:45 p.m. Thursday after a manhunt that started at about 12:30 p.m.

Sheriff Jim McVicker says King broke into a storage building at a home on NC 53 near the intersection of NC 11 near the Bladen and Pender county lines. The homeowner saw the break-in and confronted King with a weapon, investigators say, and tried to hold him until law enforcement could get there, but they say King jumped in his car. As he drove away the homeowner shot one of the tires on the car to try and stop him.

Officers found King’s car a short time later behind a church about two miles away, where they say he was trying to change the flat tire. They say King ran into the woods, leading to a manhunt on the ground and from the air. Eventually investigators flushed King out of the woods and captured him without incident.

Investigators booked King into the Bladen County Jail under a $500,000 bond last night. A judge raised that bond to $1.5 million today.

The Blade County Sheriff’s Office says King is a suspect in more 20 breaking and entering cases on the north side of the Cape Fear River in Bladen County over the last two weeks. King is charged with two counts of breaking and entering and one count of felony probation violation. Other charges are pending.

The NC Department of Public Safety website shows King’s criminal history includes convictions for crimes including indecent liberties with a child and larceny.