John Willoughby: Greene Publishing, Inc.
After county and administrative offices closed for the day, a Greenville resident was arrested after busting the windows of the Madison County Sheriff's Office (MCSO), the Madison County Courthouse, the Courthouse Annex and an MCSO unmarked vehicle.
According to a report by MCSO Major David Harper, on Monday, Sept. 17, at 5:23 p.m., the MCSO Communications Center received a burglary alarm activation at the Madison County Sheriff's Administrative Office, located at 2364 W US Hwy 90. Communications informed responding deputies that they received a call from a passing motorist who reported observing a black male wearing jeans and a black shirt, striking the windows of the Sheriff's Office with what appeared to be a shovel.
A short time later, Communications advised responding deputies that a call was received reporting a male, fitting the same description, was now at the Madison County Courthouse busting windows. MCSO deputies and Officers from the Madison Police Department (MPD) immediately responded to the Courthouse and upon arrival, the officers observed a male subject walking toward a parked silver sedan holding a shovel.
The officers ordered the suspect, later identified as Charles Wesley Evans II, 31, of Greenville, to the ground and was able to take him into custody without further incident.
Investigation, including video evidence, showed that Evans arrived at the Madison County Sheriff's Administrative Office at approximately 5:15 p.m. The Administrative Office had just closed and was unoccupied. Evans parked his vehicle in front of the office and retrieved a set of post hole diggers from the trunk of the vehicle and walked around to the west side of the building to a parked MCSO unmarked Tahoe. Evans used the post hole diggers to bust out the front and rear passenger side windows of the Tahoe and attempted to bust the driver side windows, but was unsuccessful.
Evans then walked to the front of the Office and busted out two separate internal office windows. Evans reached into one of the office windows removing a personal photo of a deputy from a desk but never fully entered the Sheriff's Office. The photo was later recovered in the trunk of the car Evans was driving.
Afterwards, Evans drove to the Courthouse Annex and busted the glass out of the entrance door, utilizing a shovel. Evans then walked across the street to the Madison County Courthouse and busted a window out of the Clerk of Courts Office just prior to being arrested. Both the annex and courthouse were also closed, however, there was an employee still inside the courthouse. The employee was able to secure herself inside the vault and was unharmed.
According to Maj. Harper, total damages are initially estimated at nearly $7,000 and Evans currently remains in the Madison County Jail on charges of burglary – damage dwelling/structure/property over $1,000, criminal mischief – $1,000 or greater, criminal mischief – $201 to $999, possession of burglary tools and petit theft. Evans is being held with no bond.
Evans had previously been arrested in July of 2016 for corruption by threat against a public official for making threats directed to the MPD and to "kill the first two cops" he saw. This case resulted in a "No Information Filed" because, at the time, the law required a specific officer to be named in the threat.