Burlington man arrested after crash, van theft and false fire alarm
A crash call turned into a stolen van, a false alarm and an arrest at Burlington police headquarters, all in one afternoon.
Burlington police said a crash call, a vehicle theft and a false fire alarm at headquarters unfolded within minutes on June 10, pulling officers from one emergency to the next before they arrested Jorge De Jesus Yepez Espinola, 39, at a nearby business in Burlington.
Investigators said Espinola was first involved in a possible crash and left the scene. Police then said he stole a nearby work van, drove it to the rear parking lot of the Burlington Police Department and went inside the building, where he intentionally activated the fire alarm in the front lobby. The department’s headquarters is at 267 W. Front Street, and the sequence forced officers to respond to multiple public-safety calls at the same time in the city’s law-enforcement center.
Officers responded around 5:10 p.m. to reports involving a motor vehicle crash, a motor vehicle theft and the fire alarm. Police later found Espinola at a nearby business and took him into custody. He was charged with felony larceny of a motor vehicle, injury to real property and giving false fire alarms. He was held under a $5,000 secured bond and given a June 11 court date in Alamance County District Court.
Investigators also believed the vehicle Espinola had been driving before the van theft was a gray Honda Accord with damage to the driver’s side and a tire issue, suggesting the crash may have happened before the van was taken. That detail points to a chain of incidents that began on a roadway, moved to a stolen work vehicle and ended inside police headquarters, with officers diverted from normal patrol and response duties.
North Carolina law makes it unlawful to willfully give a false fire alarm, including pulling the slide, arm or lever of a fire-alarm station except in case of fire. Under state law, violations are generally a Class 2 misdemeanor. Burlington’s police reporting system also warns that filing a false police report is a crime and directs emergency calls to 911. The Burlington Police Department says it is a nationally accredited agency with more than 100 sworn officers and 50 professional staff members serving the city.
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