Hickory teens charged

with breaking and entering
By Melanie Davis
Melanie@mountaintimes.com

Two Hickory teens have been charged with breaking and entering of a vehicle early Monday morning.

Officers with the Boone Police Department responded to an “in progress” report of breaking and entering from a resident of Carriage Lamp Court near the airport, which is located off Bamboo Road.

The owners of the vehicle were walking a dog when they noticed the teens' suspicious behavior in the parking lot.

The owners are alleged to have witnessed the teens enter the vehicle.

The Boone Police Department responded and pulled over a vehicle on Fairway Drive based on the witness description. The vehicle was stopped a couple of blocks from the alleged breaking and entering.

Two of the four occupants of the vehicle were arrested.

Ryan Marc White, 17, was charged with breaking and entering of a motor vehicle and larceny after breaking and entering.

A small quantity of cash was reported stolen from the vehicle.

Weipeng “Jimmy” Lu, 17, was charged with breaking and entering of a motor vehicle and aiding and abetting larceny after a breaking and entering.

White and Lu were taken before a Watauga County magistrate and secured bonds were set at $5,000 and $4,000, respectively.

The other two occupants of the vehicle, ages 17 and 18, have not been charged at this time.

All four are Hickory residents.

The investigation is continuing and investigator Matt Stevens of the Boone Police Department said additional charges are pending.

The officers recovered additional items from the teens' vehicle.

Stevens is comparing those items to other reported breaking and entering or larceny incidents reported near the time of arrest.