CLINTON — Deputies arrested a convicted sex offender on burglary charges Tuesday within minutes of the break-in, authorities said.
Charles Steven Morrison, 25, remains in jail with bond set at $132,500. Anderson County authorities say he broke into a house on Laurel Road just after 9 a.m. where an 18-year-old woman and 14-year-old girl were alone.
Morrison left prison in October after serving a sentence for burglary and sexual battery, according to Anderson County authorities. In those cases, he broke into two homes in Oak Ridge and attacked two women, authorities said.
Today’s burglary on Laurel Road got cut short when the 18-year-old woke up after hearing a noise and confronted Morrison, according to a news release from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office. He ran outside and drove away, and she called 911, authorities said.
Investigator Josh Cardwell spotted Morrison driving on Laurel near Sulphur Springs Road a few minutes later and recognized him and the car from the woman’s description, according to the release. He pulled the car over, searched it and found items stolen in an earlier car burglary at another home nearby, authorities said.
Morrison faces charges of aggravated burglary, burglary, theft and vandalism. Deputies say that’s on top of outstanding warrants for burglary, theft and vandalism in auto burglaries in Clinton.
More charges could follow, according to the release.
………Sarah Tofte
Leave a Reply