| April 10,
2006 |
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| Shuler Charged with Hardware Store Burglaries |
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A Catawba
County man is facing three counts of breaking, entering and larceny for
allegedly breaking into an eastern Burke County hardware store three time
within ten days.
Detectives with the Burke County Sheriff's Office said
Lee Allen Shuler (left), 32, of 9614 West View
Avenue, Hickory was also served a warrant from February, charging him with
stabbing his two-year-old child with a steak knife. |
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| The assault with a deadly weapon inflicting
serious injury charge stems from a domestic disturbance in June, 2005. Shuler
was reportedly engaged in a heated argument with his ex-wife, which escalated
to the man stabbing his child in the thigh. |
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| A surveillance camera led to Shuler being
developed as a suspect in break-ins at Espey Hardware, located at 401 Main
Avenue West, Hildebran. The business was burglarized on March 20th and 21st.
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| In both instances, the suspect broke out the
front door glass and stole hardware equipment made by Stihl, according to
Criminal Investigation Division Lieutenant Becky Brendle. |
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| The surveillance camera caught the suspect again
burglarizing Espey Hardware on March 29th in the same manner, Brendle
said. The video was given to local news organizations and shown on several
television stations, which assisted investigators in identifying Shuler as a
suspect. |
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| Catawba County authorities located Shuler on
April 8th and turned him over to the Burke County Sheriff's Office. |
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| Shuler, who also has an address of 7896 River
Bend Road, Claremont, was jailed under a $50,000 bond for the three burglaries.
An additional $60,000 bond was set for the assault with a deadly weapon
inflicting serious injury charge. |
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| Shuler will have a first court appearance on
April 10th in Burke County District Court. |
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