By Michael Copley
Staff Writer

On Nov. 30, 2010, Powhatan ‘s Sheriff Greg Neal was crisscrossing the county while deputies investigated a burglary on Mosley Road. A neighbor had provided police a description of a truck that was seen in the area when the home’s alarm was triggered, and the sheriff was out looking for a match.

Travelling east on U.S. 60, Neal spotted a truck that fit the description and radioed for backup. After following it for several miles, the sheriff, along with several of his deputies and members of the Virginia State Police, stopped the truck at the intersection of Judes Ferry Road and Flint Hill Road in central Powhatan.

Tierell D. Charity, 20, and James D. Thompson, 21, both of Richmond, were arrested. In the truck police found stolen firearms and at least one flat screen television. There was a pistol under the driver’s seat and Charity had on a shoulder holster.

Police searched Thompson’s home later that day, in the 3400 block of Chapel Drive in Richmond, and found a cache guns and other property that was believed stolen.

Thompson pleaded guilty March 28 to six felony charges in connection with three burglaries in Powhatan.

On May 13, Charity entered Alford pleas to four felonies: two counts of breaking and entering and two counts of stealing a firearm. In an Alford plea, the defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that enough evidence exists to convict him.

Powhatan Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert Beasley said that on Nov. 30, 2010, Charity and Thompson broke into a camper on Genito Road and stole a .22 caliber rifle before breaking into the home on Moseley Road. When the alarm sounded at the second residence, Beasley said the men grabbed a shotgun and fled.

Thompson will be sentenced June 10. A sentencing date for Charity has not been set.

Sources said both men face felony charges in neighboring counties for burglaries allegedly committed there.

In April, Thompson pleaded guilty in Amelia County to multiple counts of breaking and entering and grand larceny, according to a search of court records.