Neighbor Catches Edgefield County Burglar

Edgefield, SC—Rusty Bethune, home burglary victim: “Nobody’s ever touched a thing we own, until today.”

It was the last thing Rusty Bethune thought he would drive home to, as Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office investigators and the Crime Scene Unit filled his driveway.

Cpl. Robbie Harter, Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office:  “At about 1:22 pm the sheriff’s office received a suspicious report about a vehicle, a red ford mustang in the area of Martintown Road and Republican Road, we immediately dispatched a deputy to this area.”

When officers showed up at Bethune’s home they say they saw him, carrying stuff out to a red Mustang…that’s when he took off. After 3 agencies spent an hour of searching….the suspect headed towards this guy’s shed…but James Tyler, Sr., was having none of it.

James Tyler Sr., caught burglary suspect at gunpoint: “I proceeded to go up on the other side, and as soon as the suspect came across the backside of the shed, I had my weapon drawn and I told him to get on the ground, get on the ground now!”

Investigators say catching the suspect and helping to end some of the burglaries this area has been seeing over the past few months, was all thanks to the community. And you can bet Rusty…is thankful, not only for the officers, but for that brave neighbor who took the law into his own hands.

Bethune: “I’ll have to be sure I find him and give him a slap on the back and an ‘atta boy’, maybe buy him a steak somewhere.”

Investigators tell us the suspects’ car was registered in Richmond County, but it didn’t come up as stolen. They went to the home where it was registered, but that house was vacant. Until investigators question the suspect further, there’s no telling if he acted alone or if there are other suspects responsible for the recent break-ins.