Hattiesburg man charged with burglary counts after homeowner holds him at gunpoint

A Hattiesburg man has been arrested and charged with several counts of burglary after being held at gunpoint by a Lamar County homeowner while attempting to break into the man’s house.

Lamar County Sheriff Danny Rigel said a man in the 1400 block of Oloh Road was awakened at about 6:20 a.m. Thursday by his dog barking. When the man looked out of his window, he saw a white male trying to gain entry into the residence through a window.

The homeowner grabbed a shotgun, ran outside and held 18-year-old Gauge Braxton Jordan a gunpoint until Lamar County deputies arrived. Officers then searched Jordan and found two loaded handguns in his pockets, at which point he was taken into custody.

Because Jordan was bleeding from the arms, deputies began to investigate to determine whether he had also attempted another break-in or burglary before arriving at the house on Oloh Road.

“There was a car that was broken into in the yard, with nothing significant missing out of it,” Rigel said. “So they started checking local businesses around the area, and they came upon Military Baptist Church and found a window broken out of the church, with blood on the ground and the window.

“They searched the church and found blood inside, so the pastor was called, and they couldn’t find anything missing. But then two other trucks in close proximity to the church were also found broken into.”

In total, Jordan was charged with three counts of auto burglary, one count of attempted residential burglary and one count of commercial burglary of a church.

“There could be further charges pending an ongoing investigation, because we still have not determined where the two handguns came from,” Rigel said.