RANDOLPH COUNTY – Three suspects from High Point sought by Randolph County authorities in connection with a series of break-ins and thefts have been apprehended in New Mexico.

Michael John Robertazzi, Ahmet Edrinc Atansay and Tiffany Nicole Russell, all of E. Commerce Avenue, were taken into custody without incident by authorities in that state on Friday and charged with 12 counts each of breaking and entering, larceny and possession of stolen goods, according to the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff’s detectives, with help from High Point police, served a search warrant at the suspects’ apartment on Thursday as part of an investigation into several break-ins and thefts reported in Randolph County throughout January.

Officers recovered thousands of dollars worth of stolen property, including jewelry, firearms, prescription medications and electronics, in the search, deputies said.

That led investigators to draw arrest warrants for the trio. Shortly thereafter, deputies received information that tracked the suspects to a motel about 80 miles west of Albuquerque.

Investigators contacted authorities there, who caught Atansay and Russell in Albuquerque and Robertazzi in Grants, N.M.

According to the sheriff’s office, Robertazzi, 27, was being held at the Cibola Detention Center in Grants, while Atansay, 21, and Russell, 18, were in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque without bond and awaiting extradition to Randolph County.

pkimbrough@hpe.com | 888-3531