Deundra Lamarze Rodgers, 29, will spend at least two years in prison for breaking into multiple buildings in Sylva.
Rodgers, of no known address, pleaded guilty late last month (May 24) in Jackson County Superior Court to six counts of felony breaking and entering and six counts of felony larceny, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said.
Judge Thomas Lock handed down four consecutive active sentences of six-to-17 months, plus ordered Rodgers pay restitution.
Investigators believe Rodgers stole a van in Knoxville, Tennessee, then drove to Sylva.
Officers initially arrested the defendant last year in September in a residence on Weldon Hall Road. The door had been forced open.
A string of illegal acts followed.
“Each time he was released on bond, he would immediately break in somewhere else,” said Andy Buckner, who prosecuted the case in Jackson County Superior Court. “He finally was caught in a home where he had been squatting and had also broken into a nearby residence.”
On Oct. 19, 2020, police arrested and charged Rodgers with breaking into Southwestern Child Development Commission and East Main Auto Sales.
He was arrested on March 9 of this year for breaking into two houses on Ridgeway Street and stealing food, alcoholic beverages and other various items.
Sylva Police Department and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office investigated the cases.