SALINE CO.— Two men, one from Harrisburg, the other from Eldorado, have been charged following an incident at the Carrier Mills Dollar General Store.
On Tuesday, March 10 at approximately 8 a.m. authorities say that Jeremy S. Brown, 29, of Barnett Rd., Harrisburg, used a cellular phone belonging to Clifford Wayne Norris, 36, of Locust St., Eldorado, to call the store, located on U.S. 45, south of Carrier Mills, and ask if they carried lithium batteries.
Video surveillance allegedly shows both Brown and Norris entering the store.
Norris is said to have gone to the rear of the store while Brown went behind the check-out area and removed three packages of lithium batteries.
The pair are then said to have left the store after Norris purchased a pack of cigarettes and a roll of double-sided tape.
The pair was allegedly seen leaving the store in a GMC pickup truck.
Norris was spotted parked in front of the store in a 1997 GMC pickup truck by authorities six days later, after store hours, at approximately 10:49 p.m.
When Sgt. Billy Duncan asked Norris for his identification, Norris stepped out of the vehicle, at which time Duncan said he noticed a bulge in the right cargo pocket of Norris’ shorts.
When asked what it was, Norris allegedly said, “I have a needle and some shit that needs to be gone.”
When he searched the black sock that Norris pulled out of his pocket, Duncan said he found a capped hypodermic syringe, a plastic baggie with a white clump in it, a small straw with a white powder residue in it, a small glass pipe, a vial of clear liquid and a metal spoon with a greyish-white clump on it.
The substances are said to have tested positive for methamphetamine.
Brown was formally charged with Theft and Norris was charged with Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine.
Brown is a convicted felon having been convicted of Burglary January 17, 2012 for which he was sentenced to four years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Cash bond in Brown’s case has been set at $500.
Bond in Norris’ case has been set at $1,500 cash.