Law enforcement in Macon County began investigating a string of burglaries in the Highlands area just before the holidays last year that resulted in the arrest of Gregory Thomas Bufkin, a local FedEx driver.
Bufkin, 43, appeared in Macon County Superior Court last week and was found guilty of 17 Class H felonies of breaking and entering, which were consolidated from the original charges of 7 counts of breaking and entering, 7 counts of larceny after breaking and entering, 7 counts of possession stolen goods, and 6 counts of larceny of a firearm.
Bufkin was sentenced to 6-17 consecutive months in jail, with that sentence being suspended and Bufkin placed on 60 months of supervised probation. The extended probation was granted due to the excess restitution amount ordered by the courts. In addition, Bufkin was ordered to do a split of 14 days in the county jail per judgment meaning he has 238 days total to do at the discretion of his probation officer.
According to Macon County Sheriff Robert Holland, a homeowner called Sheriff Holland after seeing a deputy inside her residence on her home surveillance camera and wanted to know what was going on and why a deputy was in her residence. Sheriff Holland contacted the deputy assigned to the Highlands area and learned that the deputy was still inside the residence. The deputy was on scene of the home after law enforcement received a call regarding an open door at the residence and the deputy was actively searching the residence for any intruders.
Upon completion of a thorough search, the deputy was able to determine that there was no one in the residence. Later in the day, the same homeowner contacted Sheriff Holland and reported having a man on video earlier in the day on her security camera.
The homeowner reported that the intruder appeared to be wearing shorts and was there for just a brief time and fled when he saw her camera investigators with the Macon County Sheriff’s Office were able to identify that individual and were able to quickly locate him at his residence. Investigators were also able to confirm the man seen in the video was a FedEx driver who worked in the Highlands area.
“Throughout the night, interviews were conducted with the suspect who is identified as Gregory Thomas Bufkin, a local FedEx Delivery Driver,” Sheriff Holland said in December 2021. “Investigators seized several pieces of evidence which included multiple pieces of jewelry and two firearms. Some of the items seized were found to be inside Bufkin’s work vehicle.”
As part of Bufkin’s plea, he was ordered to not be in the Highlands or Scaly Mountain area.
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