ROCKINGHAM — A man on probation from a conviction earlier this year is accused of setting a vehicle on fire after trying to steal gas.
According to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a call of a vehicle break-in in the parking lot of a convenience store at the corner of County Home and Wiregrass roads (Shiv’s Corner) on Sunday, Nov. 26.
The first deputy on scene reportedly saw a minivan on fire in the parking lot — and 38-year-old Corey Allen Prisk, of Hamlet, was reportedly standing beside a nearby truck holding jumper cables.
Prisk reportedly told deputies that he was trying to get a jump and didn’t know what happened.
However, after reviewing surveillance video, deputies reportedly saw a different story.
According to the sheriff’s office, the video showed Prisk attempting to siphon gas from the van to his truck before breaking windows in the van and reaching inside to start a fire.
Prisk was arrested and charged with one felony count each of breaking or entering a motor vehicle and burning personal property, as well as one misdemeanor count each of larceny and simple possession of a Schedule IV controlled substance.
(Note: The press release does not mention what the substance was, or when or where it was found.)
Prisk was booked into the Richmond County Jail where he was still being held Nov. 28 on a $20,000 secured bond. He is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 14.
Online court records show Prisk has another court appearance scheduled for the following day on a misdemeanor charge of injury to real property.
Prisk is currently serving an 18-month suspended sentence following a June 30 conviction on misdemeanor charges of obstructing justice, stalking, and resisting a public officer, according to online records with the N.C. Department of Adult Correction.
Records show Prisk was first convicted in 2004 of misdemeanor larceny. Other Richmond County convictions include charges of resisting a public officer (2008), simple assault (2011), breaking and entering (2020), and communicating threats (2020).
Prisk was also convicted in Cumberland County on a misdemeanor count of possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance in 2010.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
