Courts

Second arrest in vending machine break-ins

BY LAURA LEWIS

STAFF WRITER

SUNSET BEACH—A second person has been arrested in connection with a recent spate of coin-operated vending machine break-ins.

Dean Michael Newman, 19, of 718 Magnolia Drive in Sunset Beach, was charged with four counts of breaking into the machines.

He was in Brunswick County Detention Center on $4,000 bond.

Leland police officers investigated the following incidents and made the following arrests last week. All information is taken directly from patrol activity reports.

•Property damage on Grandiflora Drive; suspect struck victim’s mailbox, damaging it.

•Larceny on New Pointe Boulevard; suspect stole merchandise from Walmart.

•Larceny on Bridle Wood Court; suspect stole money, jewelry and medication from victim’s residence.

Agents with the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office Drug Enforcement Unit made the following arrests last week. The suspects, and their charges, which are taken directly from sheriff’s office arrest reports, are:

•Joel Vereen, 49, of 5291 Marlowe Road, Ash; charged with possession of a schedule II controlled substance.

•Roger Odell Vaught, 40, of 2072 Ward Road NW, Longwood; charged with possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver cocaine, possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The Aggressive Criminal Enforcement (ACE) Team is a support unit, whose primary functions are traffic enforcement and assisting in the apprehension of drug traffickers in the county.

The ACE team conducts driving while impaired, driver’s license and criminal information checkpoints, as well as street-level investigations on controlled substances. The ACE team works with the sheriff’s office K-9 Enforcement Team and Drug Enforcement Unit to apprehend narcotics suspects as well as saturating hot spots where criminal activity is reported.