By Mark Wineka
mark.wineka@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Thanks to residents who were paying attention, Salisbury Police nabbed two suspects who apparently were attempting to steal a 2000 model Jeep sport utility vehicle Tuesday night in the 400 block of Mitchell Avenue.

The men also failed in stealing a car earlier in the evening in the 1200 block of South Fulton Street, reports said.

Charged with two counts each of felony breaking and entering of a vehicle and injury to personal property and one count each of larceny and motor vehicle theft were Carl Lee Burch Jr., 31, of the 100 block of Hawkins Ave., and Michael Dwayne Connor Jr., 28, of the 600 block of South Ellis Street.

Burch and Connor were placed in the Rowan County Detention Center under $10,000 bond each.

About 10:23 p.m. Tuesday, police were called to an attempted vehicle larceny in the 1200 block of South Fulton Street. The car’s owner noticed that the 1999 Ford Crown Victoria had been moved. Inside, the ignition was damaged and its steering column torn out, in a possible attempt to hot-wire the vehicle, reports said.

As an officer was clearing that scene, a resident from Fulton Heights, which has a Neighborhood Watch program, called police to say two men were in the middle of the street with a Jeep, trying to get it started and moving.

As the officer arrived, the suspects took off on foot and later were apprehended in the 700 block of Mitchell Avenue. They matched the descriptions given by two witnesses who had called police about the incident, reports said.

The men were arrested about 11:25 p.m. Tuesday.

Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263.