NEWBERRY COUNTY — A Honea Path man has been taken into custody in connection to a string of auto thefts in the Bush River and Belfast sections of Newberry, the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office announced Sunday.
Jason Julian Wertz, 43, is facing two counts of motor vehicle theft and resisting arrest. He is currently being held at the Newberry County Detention Center awaiting bond.
In a post to social media, the Sheriff’s Office said one of the stolen vehicles was spotted in the Belfast area, turning onto Moates Road before turning onto an unimproved field road.
Deputies believed the suspect, later identified as Wertz, fled into a large cutover. Bloodhounds with the Sheriff’s Office and tracking dogs from SLED initiated a search, assisted by aviation assets.
Wertz was located approximately one mile from the scene in dense brush.
Sheriff Lee Foster said Wertz was currently out on bond in Greenwood County for a similar theft. The post to social media said it appeared Wertz was living out of his car on property owned by a timber asset company.
Foster thanked the citizens of Newberry for their assistance along with NCSO, the City of Newberry Police Department, SLED agents and 911 dispatchers, who guided responding deputies into the remote area to initiate the search for Wertz.