Man charged with felony burglary in break-in reported at Hilton Head business
A Hilton Head Island man faces a felony burglary charge after allegedly breaking into a north-island business and making off with cash.
Jeremy Michael Ray, 46, was charged Tuesday afternoon with second-degree burglary, breaking into a motor vehicle and simple larceny, according to inmate records.
An arrest warrant says Ray broke into the office of Two Maids, a house-cleaning business on Cardinal Road, just before 1 a.m. Tuesday. He allegedly used the company’s business equipment and stole $286 in cash, according to the warrant.
At a bond hearing Wednesday, Ray was granted cash bond of $22,125 for his three charges, Beaufort County court records show. He remained in custody at the county jail as of Saturday afternoon.
Ray’s charge of second-degree burglary is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison under South Carolina law. Breaking into motor vehicles, also a felony, carries a maximum sentence of five years.
Other Beaufort County break-ins
The Tuesday morning break-in was one of several recent burglaries reported to police across Beaufort County.
The afternoon of Feb. 17, a group of armed people entered a house in the Beaufort area, pointed the firearms at several residents and stole property from the home, police said. A Ridgeland teenager was arrested later that day and charged in connection with the home invasion.
In late January and early February, the sheriff’s office said, at least nine houses were broken into on Lady’s and St. Helena islands, many of them rental homes that were unoccupied at the time.
Security footage shared by police showed a group of masked and hooded figures rifling through one of the residences, peering into windows of parked cars and slinking through yards in the area.
Police had not announced any arrests in the burglaries as of Friday. Sheriff’s office spokesperson Lt. Daniel Allen said the series of break-ins was unrelated to the home invasion.
The following weekend, the owner of a vacation rental in Hilton Head Island’s Burkes Beach neighborhood was checking on the home when she found a man standing in one of the bedrooms, according to previous reporting.
Police arrested the 25-year-old man, saying it appeared he had been “squatting” inside the empty residence.
