A 38-year-old woman is facing a felony burglary charge after deputies say she slipped into an occupied home near Marion, North Carolina, and tried to take one of the homeowner's dogs. Ashley Amanda Hughes was arrested Oct. 18 and accused of fleeing the scene by throwing a rock at the homeowner's car and smashing a porch railing with a shovel.
The McDowell County Sheriff's Office said the homeowner reported that Hughes entered her house in the 200 block of Roberta Street without permission and attempted to take one of her dogs, according to a Nov. 2 news release detailed by the Charlotte Observer. Marion sits roughly 95 miles northwest of uptown Charlotte, making this a far western North Carolina case rather than a Charlotte-area one.
According to the sheriff's office, Hughes left the residence only after being told to leave, but not before escalating the confrontation outside. The office said she threw a rock at the homeowner's car and struck the porch railing with a shovel. Investigators said camera footage provided by the homeowner confirmed Hughes' actions.
Investigation Stretches Back Nearly a Month
The case didn't begin with the arrest. The investigation started Sept. 24, when deputies first responded to the Marion residence about a possible breaking and entering, per WSPA. That timeline means nearly four weeks passed between the initial report and Hughes' arrest on Oct. 18.
Hughes now faces three charges tied to the incident: felony first-degree burglary, misdemeanor breaking and entering, and misdemeanor injury to property, the sheriff's office said. Under North Carolina law, first-degree burglary involves breaking and entering a dwelling with intent to commit a felony or larceny while someone is actually occupying part of the home at the time, according to the North Carolina General Assembly's statute. That is the legal definition of the charge; it does not establish that its elements have been proven in Hughes' case.
An Unexplained Motive and a Separate Pending Charge
Investigators have not released any details explaining why the dog was targeted, leaving that part of the case unresolved for now. The Observer's report also notes that Hughes has a separate pending charge of felony malicious conduct by a prisoner, after officials accused her of emitting a bodily fluid at an officer.
No additional details about the homeowner, the dog, or the outcome of the case have been released.
