Gang members accused of burglary

Lexington County Sheriff’s Department deputies on Tuesday arrested three 19-year-old men in connection with a break-in that occurred on Tuesday at a home on Woodberry Road near West Columbia.

Lexington County Sheriff James Metts said deputies arrested Keonte Hakeem Jackson, 19, of 429 Naomi Drive, Gaston; Donovan Eugene Masters, 19, of 200 Woodberry Road, Lot 6, West Columbia; and Lucius Lamonte McCoy, 19, of 287 Woodberry Road, Lot 10, West Columbia. 

The men each were arrested on charges of first-degree burglary, grand larceny and criminal conspiracy. Jackson, Masters and McCoy are accused of stealing electronics equipment and jewelry, Metts said.

The homeowner reported that the burglars allegedly stole $480 in cash, one 10-carat cluster ring worth $321 and one 24-carat gold ring worth $440, Metts said. In addition, the homeowner reported that the burglars stole one Phillips 47-inch, flat-screen television, one Sony Play Station video game console, one Nintendo Wii video game console and three Nintendo Wii video game remote controllers.

An investigator with the Sheriff’s Department Gang Unit documented that Jackson and McCoy are members of a Bloods criminal gang, Metts said.

Jackson, Masters and McCoy each were being held on Wednesday at the Lexington County Detention Center while awaiting bond hearings, Metts said.

Deputies responded to the Woodberry Road home at 12:29 p.m. on Tuesday after a neighbor told the homeowner that her home had been broken into, Metts said. The burglars broke the glass in a door at the rear of the residence.

Witnesses told deputies that three men had allegedly walked near the home, with two of the men carrying a large television, Metts said. The same three men later were seen allegedly walking near McCoy’s home.
Deputies and detectives went to McCoy’s home, where they later arrested Jackson, Masters and McCoy, Metts said. Officers found the Phillips 47-inch, flat-screen television in a hallway at McCoy’s home.

Officers found the Nintendo Wii video game console and two Wii video game remote controllers at a home that adjoins McCoy’s home.