BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — A Martin County grand jury Thursday indicted an Inez woman for allegedly breaking into storage units and stealing property.

Rose Johnson, 54, stands accused of three counts of third-degree burglary, one count of possession of burglary tools and one count of second-degree criminal mischief.

The indictment alleges Johnson committed three burglaries Feb. 25 and Feb. 26 by entering storage units at Tri-County Self Storage in Tomahawk with the intent to commit theft. The units were owned by the business and rented or maintained by Kathy Williamson, according to the indictment.

The grand jury further alleges Johnson possessed tools or instruments designed or commonly used for forcible entry or theft under circumstances that left no reasonable doubt of her intent to use them in the commission of an offense. The indictment also alleges she damaged, destroyed or defaced property belonging to Tri-County Self Storage in an amount of less than $1,000.

Bond was set at $5,000.

Johnson was initially arrested March 10 by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators alleged Johnson used bolt cutters to cut locks off s storage units and removed items from inside. She allegedly took a teal-colored gown valued at more than $1,000, a jewelry box, a flat-screen television and various other items.

Investigators also reported reviewing surveillance video that allegedly showed Johnson committing the thefts.

In a separate case, Johnson was arrested in September 2025 on a charge of theft of mail matter after police alleged she took two packages from the UPS drop box at Evans Hardware in Inez on two separate occasions. In that case, police also said they reviewed surveillance footage.

As with all indictments, the charges are allegations, and Johnson is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.