Suspects in store larceny arrested

Four Charlotte men who were wanted in connection to a larceny at a local convenience store were arrested Monday in Hillsville, Va. attempting to do a similar act there, according to information from the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Department.

Sheriff Mike Caudill said his department had sent out information to Hillsville, along with other surrounding localities to be on the lookout for the four black men who were video-taped in the act of stealing items and a money bag from Mountain Top Quick Stop, located on U.S. 21 just outside the town limits on May 20. The men had earlier committed larceny at two convenience stores in the Hillsville and were picked up in Hillsville after an alert citizen saw them men in the act of casing out another store, said Maines. They were arrested shortly thereafter.

Charged in Hillsville with felonious larceny were Dennis Clark Foster, 49; Eugene Earl Wilburn, 36; Larry Darnell Foster, 54; and Billy Hill, 65. The men also were charged with four felonies in warrants drawn up by Det. Bryan Maines for the thefts in Alleghany. All four were charged with felonious larceny, conspiracy to commit felonious larceny, larceny of chose in action (stealing a check), and conspiracy to steal chose in action (checks). Maines said the check charges stemmed from the men taking checks from the store that had been placed in the money bag behind the counter.

Maines said the men might be wanted in other areas to face similar charges.

Caudill said he has made the videotapes available in other areas to assist them in their investigations. He said the tape clearly identifies the men as the suspects in the Alleghany crime. Maines said the tapes were sent to the State Bureau of Investigation to have enhancements made of the video tape so that still photographs could be rendered.

The four men are currently in custody in Virginia awaiting extradition.

“We are currently in the process of getting the extradition papers filed to have the men brought here to face the Alleghany charges,” Maines said. “That process can take up to 90 days or even longer in some cases."

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