Authorites arrest two, look for third burglary suspect

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Cumberland County sheriff’s deputies arrested two men and were looking Thursday for a third suspect in connection with a rash of home burglaries.

Authorities have already arrested Ramone Haison Ethridge, 27, of 425 Sherman Drive in Fayetteville, and Christopher Michael Epps 16, of 107 Bruce Lane in Spring Lake in connection with the burglaries. Both were charged with breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering and possession of stolen goods.

The third suspect is described as a black man with dreadlocks. He was last seen wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt and is known by the street name of “T.”

Investigators said the suspects are believed to be responsible for eight breaking-and-entering crimes in Cumberland County and at least two in the city of Fayetteville.

A 911 call at about 11:30 a.m. Thursday alerted deputies to a break-in happening at an apartment complex on Round Grove Place in Fayetteville. A pregnant woman caller told dispatchers she was hiding in the upstairs bathroom of her apartment with her 4-year-old child after she heard the front door of her apartment crash open.

All three suspects left the scene a shortly time later in a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee, police said. Deputies in unmarked cars followed them to a location near Whitfield Street in the Massey Hill community. The suspects soon abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot.

Police said they captured Ethridge and Epps in the parking lot of Massey Hill Classical High School on Southern Avenue.

Etheridge was being held in the Cumberland County Detention Center under an $8,000 bond. Epps' bond was also set at $8,000, and he was released to the custody of his parents. Both suspects were scheduled for an appearance Friday morning at 9 a.m.

Anyone with information concerning the other suspect is urged to contact the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office at 910-323-1500.