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Harman woman facing felonies

ELKINS — A Randolph County woman is facing felony charges after allegedly going into a woman’s camper and stealing a variety of items.

Lauren Marie Bryan, 22, of Harman, is charged with one felony count of entering without breaking and one felony count of grand larceny. She is free on a $30,000 personal recognizance bond, set by Randolph County Magistrate Ben Shepler.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Randolph County Magistrate Court, at approximately 3:46 p.m. on Jan. 19, Trooper First Class C.S. Johnston, of the West Virginia State Police, received a complaint from the alleged victim that a crime occurred at her camper trailer, located in Whitmer.

The alleged victim provided a written statement that said the crime occurred between Jan. 2 and Jan. 13. She said eight pairs of Rock Revival jeans, three Columbia fleece jackets, a white cashmere coat, numerous Nike and Under Armour sweatshirts, numerous bras, Nike socks, underwear and a Taurus Judge revolver had all been stolen from the trailer.

She added the value of all the items was $3,780 but she had been able to recover “some of the items including various underwear items and her firearm,” the complaint states.

The woman said she was able to recover some of the items because a man who lives near her had called and asked her to help him get some of Bryan’s stuff out of his house. While looking through the items, the alleged victim realized they were her belongings, the complaint states.

The alleged victim described Bryan as “about 23 years old (sic). She lives across from me. She has three (3) kids with (a family member), she is a drug addict,” according to the complaint.

Johnston requested the alleged victim provide him receipts for the stolen items but she was unable to produce any paperwork regarding the alleged stolen items. Johnston also learned the alleged victim had custody of Bryan’s three children and was receiving money from the state; however, the children and state funding were taken from the alleged victim, according to the complaint.

At approximately 1:41 p.m. on Jan. 28, Johnston spoke with Bryan. After being told of the allegations from the alleged victim, Bryan “openly laughed,” the complaint states.

Bryan said she had three children with a family member of the alleged victim and had lived with her for approximately six months prior to the interview. She indicated the alleged victim abused prescription medication which caused her losing custody of the children and she was “now upset” about losing the children and state funding, the complaint states.

Bryan said she believed the alleged victim was trying to retaliate against her because she blamed her for the recent arrest of one of her family members. Bryan said she did not possess any of the items that were allegedly stolen except for the cashmere coat, which she claimed was a gift from the alleged victim. She added she would be “more than willing” to give the item back to the alleged victim, police said.

Bryan told Johnston she had not accessed the trailer belonging to the alleged victim without permission and said “she did not believe any of the items contained inside were worth stealing,” according to the complaint.

If convicted of the entering without breaking charge, Bryan could be sentenced to the state penitentiary for not less than one nor more than 10 years.

If convicted of the grand larceny charge, Bryan could be sentenced to not less than one nor more than 10 years in the state penitentiary. Or, at the discretion of the court, sentenced to not more than one year in jail and fined not more than $2,500.

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