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Beaufort County Sheriff's deputies arrested three teenage suspects today following a series of break-ins in the Alljoy Road area of Bluffton.
Jacob William Tooley, Jessica Anne Heller, and Brittney Lynn Johnson, all 18, were arrested on suspicion of breaking into multiple vehicles and a shed in the Martin Place subdivision off Alljoy Road.
Just before 3 a.m, Sheriff’s deputies responded to a reported burglary at 26 Minuteman Drive in Martin Place.
They spoke with Marc McDougall, who said he’d heard noises coming from the carport area of his home. When he went outside to inspect his property, he saw two women walking away from his home carrying items.
While contacting law enforcement, McDougall followed the suspects as they walked down the road. The suspects were then seen stopping at 15 Minuteman Drive, where they hid in the bushes.
Deputies searched the area and soon located the two female suspects, Heller and Johnson. As the investigation continued, it was discovered that vehicles at three other homes, 15, 19, and 21 Minuteman Drive, had also been broken into. The deputies learned that a third suspect, Tooley, was also involved in the break-ins, and had fled the scene.
After a short search, Tooley was located and arrested nearby at M.C. Riley Elementary School.
Deputies continued to search the area and recovered various items stolen from each of the four locations. Additional property was also recovered that has yet to be connected to any of the known break-ins, and investigators suspect that there may be additional unreported break-ins.
All three suspects have been charged with the following:
• Three counts of breaking into a motor vehicle
• One count of second-degree burglary
• One count of grand larceny
Investigators are asking anyone with any information, including anyone who may have been the victim of a previously unreported break-in, to please contact either Investigator L. Novak at (843) 842-4111, ext. 256 or the Beaufort County Dispatch Center at (843) 524-2777.
