Deputies and Investigators with the Florence County Sheriff’s Office have arrested Jeffrey Adam Powell, Phillip Bruce Rogers and James Bryan Watts and charged them each with one count of Burglary (first degree), one count of Burglary (second degree) and Petit Larceny in connection with two freshly committed burglaries yesterday at separate residences on Claussen Road near Florence, SC.  Deputies apprehended the suspects while they were still in the area and in possession of items stolen from the residences.  In one incident, a 16 year old resident hid in a closet while the burglary was in progress.

These arrests come as the result of an increase in both marked and unmarked patrol of the area in response to a series of reported burglaries in the
Claussen Community.  “We are pleased to have been in a position to make these arrests, while one of the burglaries was still in progress at the time,” Sheriff Kenney Boone stated. Our officers are also thrilled when we can return the stolen property of the victims so promptly.”

The investigation into these incidents is ongoing and additional charges are possible.

At the time of this Press Release the suspects were being held at the Florence County Detention Center awaiting a bond hearing.