MILL SPRING – A Mill Spring man is currently in custody under a $100,000 bond after the Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested him for larcenies in the area.

 

Benjamin Damacus Byars, 38, was arrested and charged with one count of first-degree trespass, three counts of felony breaking and entering, three counts of felony larceny, one count of larceny of a motor vehicle and one count of resisting arrest, according to sheriff reports.

 

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office had received multiple reports of residences being broken into along Hwy. 9 South during the last month. Detectives began investigating and were following up on leads as they developed, according to Capt. B.J. Bayne.

 

The sheriff’s office recently sent a press release alerting the public to be aware of the rash of break-ins, and warnings to keep property secure.

 

While on routine patrol, officers located an abandoned Ford pickup truck pulling a trailer on the side of the road. Bayne said the trailer matched the description of a trailer reported stolen from Derbyshire.

 

The truck was later found to have been reported stolen from the Mill Spring area and investigators were contacted to process the vehicle, according to Bayne.

 

Investigators received information and went to various locations in both Polk County and Landrum, S.C. where stolen items had been stashed or sold, Bayne said.

 

Stolen property included chainsaws, leaf blowers, sprayers, wrenches, drills, a 4-wheeler Kawasaki Mule (UTV).

 

A search warrant was executed in Green Creek, where investigators discovered a number of stolen items.

 

Bayne said while en route to a follow-up on the reported larcenies, investigators initiated a traffic stop that led to the recovery of the missing 4-wheeler.

 

Byars reportedly moved to Mill Spring in January 2017 after being released from a facility in Georgia, according to the sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office said Byars has an extensive criminal history, including convictions of forgery, burglary, kidnapping, armed robbery and auto theft.

 

Byars was still in custody at the Polk County Jail awaiting trial under a $100,000 secured bond, according to the sheriff’s office.