Three men were arrested in two different burglaries earlier this week, according to Newton County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer, Deputy Cortney Morrison.

Around 6:30 p.m. Monday, a deputy patrolling the area of Crowell Road noticed a van parked in front of a home on the side of the road, that appeared to be having some sort of trouble.

The deputy approached the female driver to ask if she needed assistance and she reportedly told him that she was fine and about to leave. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary in the van, the deputy left the woman and continued on his patrol.

Several minutes later he heard a call come in about a burglary at the address the woman had been parked in front of. He quickly realized what was going on and called in a BOLO (be on the look-out) on the van and the female he had seen behind the wheel. Deputies located the van on Turner Lake Road and found that along with the female driver, there were now two men inside the van as well. During a search of the van, deputies allegedly located prescription medication in the name of the burglary victim, drug paraphernalia and burglary tools.

The two men, later identified as 23-year-old Clinton Wofford of Buckhead and 40-year-old James Beck, Jr., of Madison, were arrested and charged with possession of a schedule III, IV or VI substance, manufacture, sell or distribution of schedule I and II drugs, possession of drug-related objects and possession of a tool in relation to a crime. They were transported to the Newton County Detention Center. Charges may be pending on the female driver.

Around 3 a.m. the following morning, deputies were called to a home on Bulloch Road, near the Newton/Rockdale County line, about a burglary in progress.

When they arrived they spoke with the victim, who reportedly told them he was awakened by a noise downstairs in his home and went to see what it was. He immediately smelled a strong odor of cigarette smoke coming from the downstairs area, which concerned him because no one in the home smoked.

The victim allegedly told deputies that he chased the man from his residence and the suspect fled on foot. The description of the alleged burglar matched one given earlier from the Rockdale County Sheriff in reference to several burglaries in the area. According to the victim, the man had fled with a jar of change and bills, his cell phone, three beers and a shirt that had been hanging on a chair in the dining room.

Deputies canvassed the area and located the jar of money at the wood line and called in K-9 deputy Jiggs, who was able to track a trail directly to the suspect, 26-year-old Justin Shane Colson of Tucker. Colson had reportedly set up a campsite of sorts down an embankment. He was allegedly drinking a beer and smoking a cigarette and when told to put the beer down and get on his stomach, he complied.

Colson was transported to the Newton County Detention Center where he was charged with burglary.