A Greenbrier County man is in jail after being on the run from authorities for more than five-weeks. Jason Paul Smith, 38, of Kirby Mountain Road in Alderson, is facing charges of burglary, petit larceny, receipt/transfer of stolen property, conspiracy, two counts of uttering (passing fraudulent checks) and two counts of forgery.
Smith’s charges stem, in part, from an incident which occurred on Sunday, October 4. Greenbrier County deputies were dispatched to a residence on Oak Cliff Lane in Alderson in response to a reported burglary. According to the criminal complaint, the victim advised officers that she and her husband returned home that evening to find their home had been broken into via the back door.
The couple had been out from approximately 12:30 p.m. until approximately 10 p.m. The alleged burglar, later identified as Smith, reportedly stole two handguns, including a revolver and a Taurus 9mm, as well as several rifles. Smith also allegedly stole three buck knives and several pieces of jewelry.
Two weeks later, on Saturday, October 17, the Alderson Police Department was called to investigate an abandoned bag found at the Dollar General on Alta Drive.
Upon further investigation, officers found the bag to contain several firearms, knives, watches and “large amounts of drug paraphernalia.”
Officers reviewed the store’s video surveillance footage, and identified Smith as the person who had abandoned the bag. Several of the items found in the bag were confirmed to be the property of the victims of the home invasion on Oak Cliff Lane. According to the criminal complaint, approximately $1,100 worth of the victim’s property was recovered from the bag allegedly abandoned by Smith. At the time of the bag’s discovery in the Dollar General, Jason Paul Smith had several outstanding warrants for his arrest in Greenbrier County for previous felony charges. On October 17, deputies requested that an additional warrant be issued for Smith, for the charge of felony transferring/receiving stolen property.
Smith was captured and arrested on the evening of Friday, November 13, and is currently being held in Southern Regional Jail. For the charge of felony receipt/transfer of stolen property, Smith’s bail has been set at $5,000 cash or surety. No bail has been set for Smith’s other charges.
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