West End, N.C. — Moore County authorities on Thursday arrested a West End man that they say forced his 87-year-old grandmother to accompany him on a string of break-ins.

Christopher Edward Puckett, 27, and his girlfriend, Kristie Jean Kimball, 31, were apprehended in a wooded area near West End after they were spotted by a North Carolina State Highway Patrol helicopter, authorities said.

Puckett and Kimball are each charged with two counts each of breaking and entering, larceny and possession of stolen property. Puckett also is charged with one count of second-degree kidnapping.

The kidnapping charge stems from Puckett forcing his grandmother to go along while he committed his crimes, authorities said. She was unharmed and is no longer with him, they said.