RAINELLE, W.Va. — Three individuals were arrested after an alleged break-in at a Rainelle storage facility that investigators say resulted in damage to a storage unit and the removal of personal property.
According to a criminal complaint filed by the West Virginia State Police, troopers were dispatched at approximately 12:42 p.m. on May 28 to a reported breaking and entering at a storage facility located at 515 Greenbrier Avenue in Rainelle. A caller reported seeing two men leaving a storage unit and entering a beige PT Cruiser. The caller also reported that a woman was present and that one of the men was carrying a baseball bat.
While officers were responding, authorities learned that the vehicle had left the area but that the female subject had allegedly returned to the scene on foot. Members of the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Department later located the PT Cruiser and two men matching the caller’s description near 11th Street. The men were identified as Harold Franklin Bailes and Edward George Hamons.
Investigators met with the complainant, Donetta Lee Viers, who told officers she had gone to the storage facility after noticing a PT Cruiser parked near Unit 26. According to the complaint, she checked her father Donald Viers’ storage unit, Unit 35, and observed new damage to the door that allegedly had not been present the previous day. Suspecting someone was inside, she left to pick up her father and returned a short time later.
Upon returning, Donetta allegedly observed one man crawling out of Unit 35 while a woman was moving in and out of Unit 26, which directly faced the unit. She contacted 911 and, while speaking with dispatchers, reported seeing a second man exit Unit 35. According to the complaint, all three subjects then entered the PT Cruiser and left the area. Donetta later provided photographs she had taken of the individuals and vehicle.
Donald Viers told troopers that he leased Unit 35 and that no one other than family members had permission to be inside the storage unit. The owner of the storage facility, Merlin Trickett, confirmed that Viers was the renter of the unit.
During interviews with law enforcement, Bailes allegedly admitted that he and Hamons entered Unit 35 and removed items from inside. According to the complaint, officers observed items inside the PT Cruiser that Bailes identified as having come from the storage unit. Bailes also allegedly told investigators that a woman later identified as Katelynn Marie McClung had been inside the unit as well.
Hamons reportedly told investigators that he and Bailes entered the storage unit because he believed it belonged to Bailes. However, Hamons allegedly acknowledged that he knew the unit was not actually rented by Bailes. Hamons denied taking anything from the unit.
McClung allegedly told investigators she had been at the storage facility but denied seeing either man enter the storage unit and denied knowledge of the incident. Investigators later determined that her statements allegedly conflicted with witness accounts and information obtained during the investigation.
While searching the PT Cruiser, officers reportedly recovered multiple personal items belonging to Donald Viers, including pieces of mail bearing his name and address, a blue cooler and a brown leather bag. The recovered property was valued at approximately $100.
According to the criminal complaint, investigators concluded that Bailes, Hamons and McClung were present at the storage facility and entered Unit 35 without permission. Authorities alleged that force was used to gain entry into the unit, citing damage to the door that had reportedly not been present the day before.
Bailes, Hamons and McClung were each charged with entry of a building, conspiracy and petit larceny. McClung was additionally charged with providing false information to law enforcement.
All three were transported to the Rainelle Detachment of the West Virginia State Police before being taken to Southern Regional Jail to await arraignment in Greenbrier County Magistrate Court.
Disclaimer: All charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
