Sheriff: Fugitive captured, stolen property recovered

ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. (WBTV) - On Thursday the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office Crime Reduction Unit (CRU) assisted the North Carolina Department of Public Safety with the apprehension of a wanted fugitive, Edward Leland Geouge III.

CRU conducted surveillance on the last known residence of Geouge, which was located at 1535 Saw Road in China Grove.

Working on information collected from NCDPS and other law enforcement agencies, CRU believed Geouge could be operating a stolen black dually pick-up truck.

Deputies say that at approximately 6:00 pm, Geouge was spotted driving what appeared to be the stolen truck in Enochville. A felony traffic stop ensued and Geouge was placed into custody without incident. There were two other people in the truck who were not charged with any crimes related to this traffic stop and were released.

Geouge had outstanding warrants from Mecklenburg County for larceny of a vehicle (unrelated to this incident), and had numerous active probation violation warrants from NCDPS.

The 1999 Ford F-350 Super Duty pick-up truck Geouge was driving was confirmed as stolen from Rowan County and had been painted black from its original red color in an effort to elude authorities. After a brief road-side investigation, Geouge was additionally charged with possession of a stolen vehicle and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Geouge received a $50,000 secured bond.