Kimberly Comer

Limestone County Sheriff’s officials received a break in a burglary case this week, leading to two arrests and the return of some stolen items, an official said.

On Wednesday, a business owner in the 12000 block of U.S. 72 West reported the theft of two rifles from inside the business and three fryers outside the business that had been placed there for cleaning, Chief Investigator Capt. Stanley McNatt said.

Investigator Johnny Morell talked to the business owner and reported the theft of the guns to the National Crime Information Center, a nationwide computer database used by law-enforcement agencies.

The day before, Joshua Health Varnell, 33, of 1989 County Road 96, Rogersville, and Kimberly Beth Comer, 29, of 53 County Road 535, Anderson, had been pulled over in a pickup truck by Florence police in what was a routine traffic stop, McNatt said. In the truck they found two rifles, which were not yet listed as stolen in the NCIC database, he said. They also noticed three fryers in the bed of the pickup, McNatt said. Florence police confiscated the rifles until they could verify the owner.

When Morell learned of the Florence traffic stop, the guns and the fryers, he was able to obtain warrants for Varnell and Comer on charges of first-degree theft and third-degree burglary.

“It was a good break that we needed to recover all of the stolen property,” McNatt said.

Varnell and Comer remained in the Limestone County Jail Friday afternoon with bail set at $7,500 each, an official said.