Clemson police arrest three in string of thefts

CLEMSON — Clemson police have charged three Pickens County teens in a string of burglaries in the city’s Crestwood Drive area.

Jason Nathaniel Smith, 17, of 216 Crestwood Drive, Clemson; Michael Benjamin Newton, 17, of 144 Magic Mountain Drive, Central; and Christopher Shane Riggins, 17, of 219 Rices Creek Road, Pickens were in custody at the Pickens County Detention Center on Tuesday evening awaiting bond hearings, said Capt. Karry Walker, chief of investigations with the Clemson Police Department.

Each of the teens is charged with first-degree burglary and multiple counts of breaking into a motor vehicle. Newton and Riggins each are charged with grand larceny. Smith is charged with possession of a controlled substance and manufacturing marijuana.

Walker said Clemson police responded to a call around 9:54 p.m. Friday from a resident of the Crestwood Drive area in regard to a burglary. Investigation by Clemson officer Darrell Hudson led to the locating of Smith and Riggins at the residence at 216 Crestwood Drive, where stolen items were recovered. In the course of the investigation, Walker said, Clemson police received other calls regarding burglaries in the Crestwood Drive area.

Walker said marijuana and some other controlled substances were also found at the scene.