Paxville teen sentenced to 6 years for string of break-ins, burglaries

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A 17-year-old Paxville man given 27 charges in mid-July for his role in a string of burglaries, automobile break-ins and larcenies could serve up to six years with the state Department of Corrections. Third Circuit Judge George McFaddin Jr. sentenced Harley Ray Ard on Sept. 6 to concurrent sentences under the Youthful Offender Act not to exceed six years and not to exceed three years after Ard pleaded guilty to multiple offenses. Ard had been held at the Clarendon County Detention Center without bond for first-degree burglary since his arrest July 13, along with Terry Calvin Barno, 26, of 1036 Woodard Road in Manning, who was charged with one count of accessory after the fact to a felony. On Sept. 6, Ard pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree burglary; two counts of grand larceny of a value of more than $2,000, but less than $10,000; and 21 counts of breaking into motor vehicles or tanks, pumps, where fuel and lubricants are stored. Two counts of petit or simple larceny of a value of $2,000 or less were dropped during the plea. Clarendon County Public Defender Scott L. Robinson represented Ard during the plea. Sheriff Tim Baxley said in July that deputies arrested both Ard and Barno for their alleged roles in "15 home and auto break-ins, including larcenies that were reported during the week of July 9 occurring in the Manning and Home Branch areas of Clarendon County." He said stolen property included guns, electronics, cash and four-wheelers. At the time of Ard's arrest, Baxley said not all of the property had been recovered. According to information from the Clarendon County and Sumter County public court indices, Ard was already serving concurrent probationary sentences for second-degree burglary, non-violent, second-degree assault and battery and possession of stolen vehicle of a value greater than $2,000, but less than $10,000. He received sentences of five years, three years and four years in prison, respectively, on those charges, all of which were suspended to six months in prison and three years’ probation. Ard pleaded guilty to these offenses March 14, 2017, with the offenses themselves dating back to Jan. 27, 2017, and Nov. 19, 2016. Charges against Barno for breaking and entering into motor vehicles or tanks, pumps, where fuel and lubricants are stored and accessory after the fact to a felony are still pending.