Christmas wreck leads police to stolen property

If you break into a church — on Christmas, of all days — expect things to not go your way.
That appears to be the case for two people arrested Dec. 25 in Grayson County, after their car wrecked in the snow while leaving the church and police discovered stolen property inside.

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According to Grayson Sheriff Richard Vaughan, deputies responded to an automobile accident on Snow Hill Road in Fairview, but when they arrived, the driver and a passenger had fled on foot.
Deputies Travis Jefferson and Bradley Brown found several pieces of electronic equipment and tools in the car.
Deputy Eric Testerman and tracking dog Bosco were called in, and they tracked the subjects to a wooded area.
While searching the area, deputies spoke to witnesses who saw two subjects get into a pickup truck. The deputies also received information from the Twin County 911 dispatch center about the possible location of the two subjects.
Jason Michael Lambert, 26, and Whitney Tenelle Bryson, 20, both of Waugh Drive in Galax, were located at Sherwood Mobile Home Park.
As a result of the investigation, both Lambert and Bryson were charged with breaking and entering and grand larceny from Snow Hill Baptist Church in Fairview. Several items stolen from the church were recovered, including a TV, DVD player, computer and an electronic amplifier.
Lambert and Bryson's luck continued to run out, the sheriff said.
Also located in the vehicle were several ends to battery cables, which connected the two subjects to thefts in the county already under investigation.
The sheriff's department had already named Lambert and Bryson as suspects in the battery thefts —  along with Brian Wayne Edwards, 23, of 966 Coleman Lane in Galax — and had issued warrants for their arrest.
On Dec. 6, the sheriff's office received a report that several batteries were stolen from vehicles in the Delp's Beach area.
The owners were able to positively identify the batteries after they were sold for scrap to Greg's Core Supply.
While the investigation was ongoing, one of the suspects allegedly stole more batteries from vehicles in a campground just east of Independence — along the New River, near Sugar Shack — and sold them to Greg's Core Supply.
Most of the stolen batteries were recovered.
Lambert and Bryson were also charged for attempting to break into a house on Peaks Mountain Road.
Investigator Todd Perkins and Sgt. Gary Hash also assisted with the investigation.
Both Lambert and Bryson are currently being held without bond in the New River Valley Regional Jail.