Two suspects arrested in property theft, attempted break-ins in Bradley County

Hope Barber and Buddy Frazier Jr.
Hope Barber and Buddy Frazier Jr.

A Chattanooga man and a Rossville, Georgia, woman have been arrested in connection to property theft and attempted break-ins in Bradley County, according to a news release from the Bradley County Sheriff's Office.

Buddy Frazier Jr. and Hope Barber were taken into custody Saturday on multiple charges after attempting to break into two Bradley County residences, forcibly entering a Bradley County business and stealing over $10,000 of property.

BCSO deputies were first called to a Charleston, Tenn. business on Saturday to find broken glass from a previous forced entry, a damaged security camera system, a cigarette case broken into, several packs of cigarettes missing, employee paychecks missing from an unlocked safe and several rolls of lottery tickets missing. They also found the VHS to the camera system's VCR had gone missing.

A short time later, at around 6:28 a.m., a caller to dispatch reported an unfamiliar vehicle with several rolls of lottery tickets and two suspects inside and suspicious individual "prowling" near a residence on Mill Hamlet Road. After a photo of the vehicle's license plate was sent to detectives, the tag number was identified and it was later determined that one suspect had attempted forced entry into a residence in the area.

photo Hope Jessica Ann Barber / Photo provided by the Bradley County Sheriff's Office

Then at around 7:30 a.m., another prowler was reported to have attempted to gain entry into the back door of a residence on Hopewell Drive. The caller provided a description of the involved vehicle and suspects, which matched that of the previous caller's description. Deputies managed to detain Barber, who was standing by the vehicle at the scene. While approaching Frazier, who was still on the back porch of the residence, deputies gave verbal orders to stand down, but Frazier initiated a "physical altercation" with two deputies. One deputy sustained injuries that required medical treatment, the release states.

The vehicle on the scene at Hopewell Drive matched the license plate number that had been reported at Mill Hamlet Road. The vehicle was detained and detectives then found lottery tickets and pay checks matching the descriptions of items stolen from the Charleston business. An investigation determined the vehicle had been stolen out of Catoosa County, Ga.

Barber and Frazier have both been booked into the Bradley County Jail.

Barber faces charges including theft over $10,000, vandalism over $2,500, burglary, theft under $1,000, violation of governor's order, two counts of attempted aggravated burglary and two counts of vandalism Under $1,000. Frazier had an active warrant out of Catoosa County and faces charges including theft over $10,000, vandalism over $2,500, burglary, theft under $1,000, violation of governor's order, resisting arrest, two counts of vandalism under $1,000, two counts of attempted aggravated burglary and two counts of assault on a law enforcement officer.

photo Buddy Vernon Frazier Jr. / Photo provided by the Bradley County Sheriff's Office

Upcoming Events