Staff Writer

Two Spartanburg men are accused of being involved in burglaries in Union County earlier this year.

Marcus Dwayne Carson, 30, has been charged by the sheriff's office with second-degree burglary, grand larceny, safecracking, malicious injury to property, petit larceny and second-degree burglary. Carson is an inmate in South Carolina Department of Corrections custody. His last known address was on 558 Hugh St., Spartanburg.

The cases were investigated by Lt. Kenneth Riddle and Lt. Terry Humphries. Riddle said warrants have been drawn up on a second suspect in the case, Jamie Jerome Hall, 30, who is being held in the Spartanburg County Detention Center. Hall's last address was 785 Howard St., Spartanburg.

Riddle said Carson was taken into custody after a burglary in Cherokee County. When authorities questioned him, he admitted to Union County crimes and implicated Hall as a co-defendant.

The men are accused of a crime spree on April 27 that included break-ins at the Highway 9 Food Mart, Gene's Fine Foods and Snow White Laundry.

They are accused of prying the door open on the Highway 9 Food Mart on 1255 Jonesville-Lockhart Highway and taking cash from the register and safe and six cartons of cigarettes.

At Gene's Fine Foods on 217 North Duncan By-Pass, they are accused of taking money from the cash registers and from donation containers at the front of the restaurant.

At Snow White Laundry, they are accused of prying open an arcade game and attempting to pry open a change machine, damaging it severely.

Shoplifter foiled

A man trying to steal 10 bras and some other items from Wal-Mart Wednesday was interrupted by an employee.

An employee told Sgt. Kevin Powers with the public safety department that a white man left the Garden Center with a cart of merchandise and a security sensor was activated.

Two employees approached the man and asked to see his receipt. He became angry, left the cart behind and got into a tan-colored Chevrolet Cavalier.

Inside the buggy was merchandise that included 10 bras, a tote bag, a bottle of car wash and a bottle of wash and wax, altogether worth $150.