3 charged in Bent Creek break-in, deputies recover most stolen property

Investigators recovered more than 80% of the property reported stolen in a Bent Creek break-in and charged three people after following the case to a home on Twin Pine Trail in Candler. Deputies said the break-in was reported May 24, and the arrests came four days later after a search warrant at the Candler residence turned up the stolen items.

The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspects as Michael Turner, Latasha Wilson and William Foreman. All three face charges including breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering, possession of a stolen motor vehicle and possession of stolen property. Deputies also said the search uncovered marijuana, methamphetamine and psilocybin mushrooms inside the residence, adding drug-related charges that varied by suspect.

The case moved from a neighborhood property crime into a broader investigation that crossed from Bent Creek into Candler. Detectives said they found the suspects on May 28 at the Twin Pine Trail home, then executed the search warrant and recovered most of what had been taken. District 2 Capt. Chris Stockton praised the investigators and said stolen property is often never recovered or is returned only after it has been damaged beyond its value.

Bent Creek sits in south-central Buncombe County, southwest of downtown Asheville, near the Bent Creek Experimental Forest and the North Carolina Arboretum. With a 2020 population of 1,402, it is the kind of close-in residential area where a break-in can quickly become a test of how well local law enforcement can trace stolen goods and identify suspects before items disappear into secondary markets.

The sheriff’s office, based at 60 Court Plaza in Asheville, operates under Sheriff Quentin E. Miller, who was elected in 2018 and sworn in Dec. 3, 2018. For Bent Creek homeowners, the outcome of this case was not just the arrest of three suspects, but the return of most of the property and a clear example of how quickly a burglary investigation can develop when detectives have a solid trail to follow.