A man has been charged with burglary after he kicked in the door of a business, claiming he just wanted to get out of the cold.
The suspect, James P. Vernon, 46, is charged with burglary, filing a false report and leaving the scene of an accident.
His charges come after deputies were called to a residence to investigate a call in which a burglary suspect was being held at gunpoint. When lawmen arrived, they spoke to the resident who told them Vernon had come to her door with a blanket wrapped around him and began knocking.
“She said that she called her dad to come to her house and upon arrival, the individual (Vernon) left,” reported Sheriff’s Sgt. Billy Joe Crouch. “An hour later she said she was leaving her house when she saw Vernon standing in the door of Ace Fence Company and he started to walk toward her.”
The woman called her father again and he found the suspect on his daughter’s property. By the time the deputy arrived, Vernon had made his way back to the fence company.
“When I arrived I observed the front door of Ace Fence Company open and the suspect was standing at the door,” Crouch said. “The door had been kicked in.”
During questioning, Vernon told the deputy he was trying to take cover from the sub-freezing temperature.
“He admitted he kicked in the door and said he had to get out of the weather the night before,” Crouch said.