ROCKINGHAM — A man and woman are facing charges related to two break-ins at the same residence that occurred 10 days apart.
According to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, a home on McNeil Road was broken into on July 28 and again on Aug. 7.
Investigators accuse 23-year-old Taylor Alexander Thornton and 48-year-old Jennifer Russell Grooms, both of Marston, of breaking into the home and stealing a battery-powered lawnmower, an electric leaf blower, unspecified prescription medication, assorted jewelry and groceries, and U.S. currency.
Thornton was arrested Aug. 15 and is charged with two felony counts each of breaking and entering and larceny after breaking and entering, as well as one count of misdemeanor larceny. He was booked into the Richmond County Jail on a $25,000 secured bond.
Grooms was charged with two felony counts of accessory after the fact and given a $10,000 secured bond.
When the RCSO issued the press release on Aug. 21, jail records appeared to show both had been bailed out.
Thornton and Grooms are scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 31. (Note: Online court records show Grooms has court appearances on Aug. 31 and Sept. 21 for accessory after the fact.)
Online court records show Grooms has a pending charge of misdemeanor larceny from 2022.
Records with the N.C. Department of Adult Correction show Grooms was previously convicted of larceny over $1,000 in 2011 and selling a Schedule II controlled substance in 2013. Her probation for both cases was revoked the latter year and she was incarcerated for two months.
Several months after her release, Grooms was convicted of selling a Schedule II controlled substance.
Grooms was also convicted in 2019 of possessing stolen goods.
Thornton appears to have no prior convictions in the state.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
