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Man's security system helps ID suspect in theft, assault

A Parkton man was arrested late Monday in connection with stealing appliances from a Fayetteville home in August and attacking the homeowner.

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FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — A Parkton man was arrested late Monday in connection with stealing appliances from a Fayetteville home in August and attacking the homeowner.

Shawn Schultz, a former Army Reserve member who now works as an arborist, said he likes to take care of things, including his own property. So he set up a security system at a bungalow on Camden Road that he uses for storage.

The system sent an alarm to his cellphone on Aug. 30, and a camera snapped a photo of a man trying to haul off a dryer from the house.

Schultz said he called 911 but then drove over to the house as well to try to stop the crime.

"He said, 'I thought this house was abandoned,'" Schultz said of his encounter with the thief. "I said, 'There's locks on the doors,' and he said, 'That don't mean nothing.'"

The man also told Schultz, "I make a living this way."

A scuffle ensued, and the man kicked Schultz in the head before fleeing with the $200 dryer. A washing machine and other items taken from the house were left in the yard.

"(It was) probably a size 11 shoe, I guess, because he was a pretty big guy. He was fast," Schultz said. "I think you should restrict these things to your ability, and this was a little bit past my ability."

The picture caught on the security camera helped Cumberland County deputies identify the suspected thief as Donald Wayne Harris, 45, of 1229 Carolina Church Road in Parkton.

Harris was charged with common law robbery, breaking and entering and larceny and was being held in the Cumberland County jail under a $10,000 bond. Schultz said he plans to file an assault charge against Harris as well.

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