DATE: Tuesday, October 14, 1997             TAG: 9710140284

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   76 lines

ARRESTS FOLLOW BURGLARY SPREE THREE-WEEK OUTBREAK WORSE THAN TYPICAL OFFSEASON CRIME, POLICE SAY.

Burglars have broken into more than 40 cottages on the Outer Banks during the past three weeks, police said.

Break-ins at rental homes usually increase each fall once vacationers vacate the residences.

But officers said the recent spate of crimes is much worse than usual.

``Oh, man, is it more,'' Southern Shores detective Ken Forney said Monday. ``Usually, we get one every two weeks or so this time of year. In the past two weeks, we've had at least six just in Southern Shores.''

Monday morning, Dare County sheriff's deputies arrested eight people in a total of 11 break-ins in houses between Manteo and Duck.

Four of the subjects, all young Manteo men, also are suspects in a series of break-ins in South Nags Head, Sheriff's Deputy Rodney Midgett said.

``It's unusual for us to have three similar incidents involving three separate sets of people all in one day,'' Midgett said. ``Our guys have been going full speed all morning. This is the largest group of suspects we've been able to pinpoint in a single day.''

Most of the break-ins occurred after burglars kicked in a door or pried open a sliding glass door. Electronic equipment - from televisions to stereo systems to VCRs - were the items stolen most often. Most of the break-ins happened at unoccupied rental cottages.

``If homeowners are going to be gone for a long time, they need to take their valuable electronic equipment with them,'' Midgett said.

At 3:10 a.m. Monday, a resident of North Point in Duck called police to report someone breaking into his neighbor's house. When officers arrived, they found a pickup parked under the residence with electronic entertainment equipment inside. The caller told police that suspects had fled through the back of the house.

Officers found four men on foot and arrested them. Police said the men, all from Roanoke Island, will be charged in the Monday burglary and in burglaries of four other houses in North Point and four homes in the Tuckahoe West subdivision of Duck between late Sunday and early Monday. Police recovered televisions, VCRs and stereos when they arrested the men.

The suspects include: Qadir Chance, 23, of Roanoke Island Trailer Park; Anthony W. Basnight, 18, of Burnside Road; Thomas L. Rice, 20, of Burnside Road; and Marsellous A. Rice, 22, of Burnside Road.

Nags Head Police Chief Charles Cameron said Monday that the four also may be charged in a series of South Nags Head break-ins.

``Police found TVs, VCRs, stereos and other items stolen from those cottages at two residences in Manteo,'' Cameron said.

During the past month, Cameron said, 15 houses in Nags Head have been burglarized, most of them in South Nags Head.

All four of the Manteo men were in Dare County Jail Monday night awaiting a court appearance this morning.

There was also a break-in early Monday near Manteo. A resident of Mother Vineyard Road called police to report a strange car outside his neighbor's house while his neighbor was out of town. Sheriff's deputies later determined that the home had been burglarized. Southern Shores police stopped the car a few hours later and found jewelry, cash and liquor inside.

Police arrested three men, ages 16 to 19, from Hampton and Newport News, Va., and charged them with breaking and entering. The 16-year-old also was charged with driving while impaired. All three were in Dare County Jail Monday night and were scheduled to appear in court this morning.

Also early Monday, a real estate worker reported a strange car at a model home on Ocean Crest Drive in Duck. When officers investigated, they found a 49-year-old Richmond woman inside. They charged Mary Ann Neely with breaking and entering - and later discovered that the car she was driving had been stolen. She also was charged with defrauding a Duck restaurant by leaving without paying for a meal.

Homeowners in Avon and Buxton also reported burglaries over the weekend. And fishing rods, reels and tackle valued at more than $2,000 were stolen at three Hatteras Island houses. Some of the equipment was under the cottages, while other rods and reels were on vehicles.

``No one has been arrested in connection with the Hatteras crimes yet,'' Midgett said. ``Certainly, some of those crimes are related.

``The arrests we did make could not have happened if citizens had not been willing to get involved and report what they'd seen to the sheriff's office.''

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