ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — A Buncombe County man was arrested earlier this month after being accused of stealing from people in his community who lost their homes to landslides during Hurricane Helene.
One of the victims in the theft case was swept away in a slide and rescued hours later, the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Tyson Emrys Neal Pike faces numerous charges, including:
- Felony financial card theft
- Misdemeanor financial card fraud
- Felony trespass/looting during an emergency
He was jailed on a $3,000 bond for those charges.
Other charges include:
- Felony financial card theft
- Felony financial card fraud
- Felony possession of Schedule II controlled substance
- Misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia
- Felony trespass/looting during an emergency
- Two counts misdemeanor possession of stolen goods
- Child abuse
- Larceny of a firearm
He was jailed under a $6,000 bond for those charges.
The sheriff’s office received a complaint on Nov. 12 about stolen property from the area of Lakey Gap Acres near Black Mountain. The area was heavily impacted by Hurricane Helene.
A man was seen looting from destroyed homes in the area. The victims also noticed fraudulent charges on their credit cards and were unable to find their identifying documents when they returned to their homes.
On Nov. 18, detectives executed two search warrants on Pike’s former home on Brierley Hill and his current home on Lakey Gap Acres. Deputies recovered four stolen firearms, stolen IDs and credit cards belonging to the victims and what was believed to be methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
“The residents of Buncombe County have suffered incredible losses. The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office takes reports of victims being exploited seriously and will investigate such crimes fully,” Executive Lt. Bryon Crisp said in the news release.
Crisp is part of the sheriff’s office’s leadership team in District 1, where the crimes happened.
