The Eupora Police Department has charged two men in connection with burglaries that occurred at local factories. Taylor Johnson, 27, of Eupora and Charles Alan Howell Jr., 43, of Mathiston (Choctaw County) are each charged with burglary of a commercial building in separate incidents. The burglaries occurred April 3 at HPJ Industries, 155 S. Britton Road, and April 20 at Tilsatec, 2895 E. Roane Ave. A May 4 affidavit filed by Cpl. Tyler Bierdeman alleges Johnson broke into HPJ and stole a ThinkPad laptop, DeWalt drill and DeWalt grinder. A May 1 affidavit filed by Cpl. Bradley Frost alleges Howell broke into Tilsatec and stole a Dell laptop. Howell, who was arrested April 30 with bond set at $15,000, was released on his own recognizance May 5. Johnson was already in the Webster County Jail on county charges when the EPD filed the commercial burglary charge against him last week. Johnson posted a $10,000 bond with the sheriff’s office; however, jail records show the Choctaw County Sheriff’s Department had a “hold” for him and picked him up the night of May 6. Both men were to appear in Eupora Municipal Court on Tuesday. Eupora Police Chief Gregg Hunter thanked the Choctaw and Webster County sheriffs’ offices for assisting in the recovery of the tools stolen from HPJ and the laptop stolen from Tilsatec. “We’re still in the process of recovering property,” he said, adding that the burglaries are being investigated as being connected. Hunter also said the vending machine inside Tilsatec was broken into and that the burglary of a vending machine at Piggly Wiggly is being investigated as a possible connection. Johnson charged with ATV theft Johnson is facing county charges of grand larceny. disorderly conduct, failure to comply and resisting arrest, for which he was arrested April 27. The grand larceny affidavit filed against him by Deputy Sheriff Beau Powell on May 1 alleges he stole a 2007 all-terrain vehicle from Jerry Taylor at 4043 N. Sapa Road. The sheriff’s office provided this additional information in a social media post: On April 23, a resident in the Montevista area called with a complaint of an unwanted person at his home and stated he believed the subject, later identified as Johnson, had possession of a stolen four-wheeler on his property as well. Once the deputy arrived on scene, the subject fled on the four-wheeler, which resulted in a chase and multiple hours of searching because of Johnson abandoning the ATV and fleeing on foot in the woods. Deputies recovered and towed the four-wheeler as well as another vehicle, with the investigation resulting in Johnson’s eventual arrest. He is set to appear in Webster County Justice Court on May 20.
