BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — Two people are facing burglary charges after a man caught them looting his grandparents’ house off Old Route 3 in Inez.

Martin County Deputy Steven Putman arrested Inez residents Lonnie Pauley, 62, and Bertha Jude, 45, on charges of third-degree burglary and second-degree criminal mischief July 30.

According to police, the homeowners’ grandson Chris Sesco was walking with his 2-year-old son when he spotted Pauley and Jude inside the home. Sesco told deputies the two took items, but he could not stop them while holding his child.

Deputies found the pair around 9 p.m. and took them into custody. Both admitted going inside and taking property, officials said. They claimed “two random boys gave them permission to go inside and get what they wanted,” Putman wrote in his report.