A routine patrol Sunday morning helped a Halifax County Sheriff’s Office deputy stop a vehicle break-in.

Chief Deputy Wes Tripp said Deputy S.G. Page observed a vehicle parked in the travel lane of Zoo Road South in Roanoke Rapids around 1:20 a.m. The vehicle, determined to be the suspect’s, was running with headlights on and the driver’s door open.

When Page positioned his vehicle to continue checking on the matter he noticed a man under a vehicle in a yard.

The vehicle in the yard, which belongs to Halifax Linen, was broken into and items from it were found outside. The glove box was ransacked and items were scattered throughout the vehicle.

Page arrested Richard Lee Clay, 34, of Roanoke Rapids, and charged him with breaking and entering a motor vehicle and larceny.

He was jailed on $15,000 bond and has a February 6 court date.

The items taken from the vehicle were returned.