BUCKHANNON – An Upshur County man was arrested Tuesday after allegedly entering several buildings and a vehicle without permission on several separate occasions throughout November and December.
Joshua Evans, 28, of Buckhannon, was arrested for two counts of entry into a building other than a dwelling, a felony; attempted entry of a building, a felony; and non-residential breaking and entering, a misdemeanor.
According to the most recent criminal complaint in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s Office filed by Buckhannon Police Officer Patrolman Jonathan Warner, on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, Warner was dispatched by the E911 Upshur Communication Center to a certain room in the Colonial Motel, located at 24 North Kanawha Street.
The call was regarding a reported automobile breaking and entering that had occurred at approximately 12:24 a.m. The Upshur Comm Center advised Warner that the victim had obtained a video recording of the suspect, later identified as Evans, allegedly getting into her car.
Upon arrival, Warner spoke with the victim, who told police someone had broken into her car. The victim’s boyfriend had received a video camera notification that someone was outside, and the video had captured a male subject getting in the vehicle. Riffe showed Warner the video, and he was allegedly able to identify the subject as Evans.
Evans allegedly opened the door of the victim’s dark blue Jeep Cherokee and began to look through the vehicle. According to the report, Evans entered the vehicle, sat in the driver’s seat and can be seen sorting through items in the vehicle.
Afterward, Evans exited the vehicle, and the tape allegedly showed him allegedly putting something into his backpack. Then, Evans allegedly attempted to enter another nearby vehicle – a Ford F-150, but the door was locked. The owner of the dark blue Jeep Cherokee wasn’t certain about what had or had not been taken from the vehicle, but she was missing a five-dollar bill from the bottom of her purse.
Several hours later, Warner and BPD Patrolman James Fisher were conducting a routine business check on the VFW located on North Kanawha Street when they noticed a male subject who appeared to fit Evans’s description riding a bike up the street. The rider eventually turned onto East Main Street at 4:05 a.m. and the subject was seen wearing the same clothing shown in the video provided by the owner of the dark blue Jeep.
An earlier criminal complaint in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s Office had been filed by BPD Patrolman Wade Loudin. According to that complaint, on Nov. 9, 2023, Loudin responded to 154 Pocahontas Street in reference to a building being entered and its owner discovering items missing.
Upon Loudin’s arrival, the owner of the building told Loudin that the inside of his building “looked as if someone had gone through his boxes,” and there was also a compound bow missing that was kept inside the structure.
Before that incident, on Nov. 2, 2023, Warner found a tackle box that had allegedly been taken from 158 Pocahontas Street, a residence whose owner reported that someone had entered the building and removed items. According to the report, there were bicycle tracks from the alleyway behind 154 Pocahontas Street, up next to the building and another set in the alley.
The same day – Nov. 2 — Loudin received a message via Facebook from another local resident, stating he had video footage of a male on a bicycle attempting to enter his building, but was ultimately unsuccessful.
The police report says Evans was allegedly seen on the same bicycle at Go-Mart by a cashier twice the same night. The cashier at Go-Mart stated the male came in around 11:30 p.m., the night of Nov. 1, 2023, and bought a pack of Sonoma cigarettes.
The male returned the morning of Nov 2, 2023, and bought another pack of Sonoma cigarettes, so police officers showed the cashier a photo line-up containing six individuals, at which point he stated the subject could either be number four – which was a filler photo provided by the West Virginia Fusion Center – or number five, which was Evans.
Evans was stopped on a bicycle matching the description of the one seen in the video from Go-Mart, as well as the security footage provided by the man who had used Facebook to message police.
Upshur County Magistrate Alan Suder set bail at $46,500 cash or surety.
The potential penalty for a conviction of entry into a building other than a dwelling is confinement in a state correctional facility for one to 10 years. In addition, the potential penalty for attempted entry into a building other than a dwelling is confinement in a state penitentiary for not less than one, nor more than three years, or confinement in jail for six to 12 months and a fine of up to $500.
Finally, the possible penalty for non-residential breaking and entering is confinement in jail for not less than two nor more than 12 months and a fine of up to $100.
