Lavonia Man Charged in Two Burglaries, Suspect in Others

Lavonia Police have a man in custody they believe is responsible for two burglaries and possibly more.

On Tuesday, Lavonia Police Chief Bruce Carlisle said the Tugalo Animal Hospital on Vickery St. was burglarized over the weekend.

“On the morning of January 26, Lavonia Police received notification from Dr. April Steele at Tugalo Animal Hospital that her business had been broken into and money taken from the business during the early morning hours,” he said. “The suspect entered the business by breaking a window and entering through the window. Video surveillance captured the incident and officers and investigators recognized the suspect on the video.”

Carlisle said his investigators went to the home of that suspect on Rainbow Drive Sunday morning and were able to make an arrest.

“During initial contact with him, they were able to determine that he was in fact the one that entered the animal hospital, and they recovered the money that was taken from the animal hospital during the burglary,” Carlisle said. “They were also able to recover the tool that was used to break the window.”

The suspect is identified as Charles Abercrombie, age unknown, of Rainbow Drive in Lavonia.

As investigators continued to speak with Abercrombie they determined he was also involved in previous burglaries around Lavonia.

“Interrogation of the suspect revealed that he had also broken into the Vandiver Law Office back in July, which he admitted to. Mr. Abercrombie has a long criminal history and has a history of terrorizing businesses in the City of Lavonia as far back as 2008,” he said.

Carlisle said he believes Abercrombie is responsible for break-ins at the original Pizza Shack, the Lavonia Post Office, and several other unsolved burglaries.

Abercrombie is charged with two counts of burglary and remains in custody.