Stolen Car Turns Up In Flames

BENSON — What began as a quick stop at a convenience store ended less than an hour later with a burned-out vehicle and an arrest.

Authorities said a 56-year-old Benson man stopped at a convenience store along N.C. 210 near Interstate 40 around 7:24 p.m. Sunday. He left his silver SUV running with the keys in the ignition. Moments later, investigators said, a suspect jumped into the vehicle and drove away.

Johnston County sheriff’s deputies responded and reviewed store surveillance video, where they said the suspect was recognized from prior encounters. Deputies later went to the suspect’s home on Eula Court in Angier but were unable to locate him.

While deputies continued searching for the stolen vehicle, the West Johnston Fire Department was dispatched at 7:58 p.m. to a reported vehicle fire in the 7100 block of Old Fairground Road near Benson.

Deputies arriving at the scene determined the burning vehicle was the stolen SUV. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, but the vehicle was declared a total loss.

Deputies said they located the suspect, identified as Bradley Ray Mangum, 33, walking about a quarter mile from the fire scene. Deputies reported seizing accelerants in Mangum’s possession believed to have been used to set the vehicle on fire.

Mangum was charged with felony larceny of a motor vehicle. Additional charges are expected pending the outcome of a joint investigation by the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office and the Johnston County Fire Marshal’s Office.