Clinton man charged in two separate Whiteville crimes

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A Sampson County man is in jail under a $250,000 bond, charged with two separate crimes in a matter of hours.

The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office says deputies responded to Hudson Drive in Whiteville on Wednesday night around 9:30 in reference to a prowler. Deputies say when they arrived, Jeffery Ryan Chavis, 36, was standing next to a car wearing dark clothing. He then ran off. A witness told deputies the car Chavis was standing by was stolen. Deputies confirm it was stolen from Fairmont.

The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office says a few hours later, early in the morning on Thursday, a woman who lives on Fred Powell Road in Whiteville stepped outside to turn off her Christmas lights and left her door unlocked. When she came back in, her wallet was missing from the couch where she left it with $540 inside of it. The woman also smelled an unfamiliar cologne/perfume smell, which led to her spare bedroom. The woman told deputies her bedroom door was cracked open, which was closed when she left it. When she opened the door and turned on the light, a man, later identified as Chavis, was standing in there. He ran out of the home.

Around 2:30 a.m. on Thursday, a Master Sergeant with the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office spotted a man on the front porch of another home on Hudson Drive. Chavis was identified and arrested for the the Possession of Stolen Property Charge from the Wednesday night incident on Hudson Drive.

The woman on Fred Powell Road also identified Chavis as the man who entered her home. Deputies say Chavis had the woman’s property on him at the time of his arrest.

He’s also charged with first degree burglary and larceny after breaking and entering.

He was also served for a parole violation.

He is in the Columbus County Detention Center.