Century Man Gets 15 Years In Prison For Burglary Of An Occupied Home

June 12, 2018

A Century man has been sentenced for his role in a burglary in the Wawbeek community.

Curtis Matthew Capers was  sentenced to 15 years in state prison for burglary of an occupied dwelling by Judge Gary Bergosh.

Capers was the getaway driver for Vernon Lambeth of Century in the burglary of a home on Highway 168.  In October 2016, a woman returned home to found Lambeth inside.

“I noticed some things were out of place, and then there he (Lambeth) was, standing in the hallway looking at me,” the victim told NorthEscambia.com on the day of the incident. She said she returned quickly to her 21-month old child, who was outside in a vehicle, to call 911 as Lambeth ran outside and into a nearby wooded area.

A K-9 team from Century Correctional Institution was able to track Lambeth down and take him into custody near Wawbeek Road.

Capers was seen leaving in the area in an older model green SUV with bullet holes. The vehicle was located in Alabama just north of the state line on Sam Jones Road, about two miles from the burglary. A K-9 was able to track Lambeth down; he had attempted to conceal himself with roofing tiles in an abandoned barn. A pillowcase that contained stolen items from the home on Highway 168 was also located. And Capers was positively identified by the burglary victim.

Law enforcement also observed screwdrivers and a crowbar inside of the vehicle. Capers was arrested and interviewed by Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Investigator David Preston. During the interview, Capers admitted to his knowledge and involvement, not only to this burglary, but two additional burglaries in which he and Vernon Lambeth committed. He still faces charges of armed burglary and grand theft of a firearm for those burglaries on Rockaway Creek Road and North Pineville Road.

In all three incidents, Capers dropped Lambeth off and waited down the road as a look out until Lambeth called to be picked up. Afterwards, they would sell the stolen items and split the proceeds.

A photograph published on NorthEscambia.com (left) after Lambeth’s arrest for the Wawbeek Road burglary showed him wearing a diamond ring. That ring was identified as one stolen during a burglary on Rockaway Creek Road. Lambeth took items including the ring, firearms and currency valued at $3,180 from the home. Most of the items, according to court documents, were sold or traded from drugs at his home at 120 Front Street.

Lambeth was also charged with the burglary of a home on North Pineville Road where he took jewelry, firearms and money totaling $3,350.

Lambeth pleaded no contest to burglary of an occupied dwelling; two counts of burglary of a dwelling while armed with a firearm, two counts of grand theft; two counts of criminal mischief; introduction of contraband articles into a county detention facility; and possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine). He was sentenced in August 2017 by Circuit Judge Gary L. Bergosh to 17 years in state prison with a mandatory minimum 10 year prison sentence.

Pictured above and below: The manhunt following burglary on Highway 168 in October 2016. Pictured immediately below: Vernon Lambeth is taken into custody. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News