Newport man charged in rash of vehicle B & E’s
On 09/12/2020 Carteret County deputies arrested
Raymond Nicholas Etheridge, 31, of 160 East Southwinds Drive, Newport after a ten-day investigation.
At the start of Labor Day weekend and in the days to follow, detectives began investigating reports of vehicles being entered starting on roads off Hwy 24 including Glenn Abby Drive and Lockwood Drive in Morehead City. During the next week, the reports spread to roads off Country Club Road including Sanderling Drive, Farmstead Ct, River Drive, King Fisher Drive, and Fairway Road in Morehead City.
Detectives began surveillance and arrested Etheridge in his vehicle in the early morning hours of 09/12/2020 for possession of meth and heroin as well as a range of other outstanding warrants.
In a joint investigation between the Sheriff’s Office and Morehead City Police, Detective Sgt. Greg Mason said investigators were able to recover a variety of stolen property in Etheridge’s vehicle and linked the property back to prior reports over the past ten days. Etheridge is currently in the Carteret County Jail under a $19,000 bond and will be facing approximately sixty additional charges for at least twenty different vehicles including Breaking or Entering a Motor Vehicle, Larceny, and Possession of Stolen Goods. Etheridge will also face charges for crimes committed inside the city limits of Morehead City.
Etheridge is no stranger to B & E’s from motor vehicles. In 2010, Etheridge was charged with over thirty Breaking and Entering of Vehicles and has an extensive arrest and jail record. Anyone who has any information about this case is asked to call Detectives Greg Mason or Chip Coble at (252) 728-8400.
Major Jason Wank, Chief Detective of the Sheriff’s Office stated that Etheridge primarily targeted unlocked vehicles and reminds the public to use this case as a reminder to remove your valuables and lock your car doors, even at home.