Anson County deputies apprehend fugitive sex offender

Lauren Monica, The Anson Record, Wadesboro, N.C.
·2 min read

Nov. 20—INMAN — Brian Thomas Griffin, a convicted sex offender, has been charged with the theft of 65 stolen firearms from his deceased grandfather.

The initial report of his wanted status was reported in the Oct. 16 edition of the Anson Record.

Griffin, 29, had been sleeping on a mattress in a Polkton home beside the grandfather's residence, with neighbors reporting seeing him make several trips in and out of his grandfather's home the night before the firearms were found to be missing on Sunday, Oct. 1.

Aware of a residence in Spartanburg County, SC linked to the suspect through his girlfriend, thirty-four year old Tasha Lancaster, Anson County deputies reached out to Spartanburg Police on October 27, requesting assistance from their jurisdiction. Griffin failed to register as a sex offender (he has a previous conviction of first-degree rape and assault on a child in Union County) when he relocated to an address on Lyman Rd. in Inman, South Carolina.

On November 9, deputies from Anson County Sheriff's Office and Spartanburg Sheriff's Office SC, along with an agent from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation located Brian Thomas Griffin at a residence on Lyman Road in Inman. Griffin shared the home with his girlfriend, Lancaster, and one juvenile.

Deputies reported that when they entered the home they were, "overwhelmed by the odor of feces and urine." A total of 12 dogs and 1 cat were located inside the home with feces found covering the floor in every room and some of the dogs locked in cages.

Several loaded firearms were found, which were accessible to the juvenile in the home. Deputies were able to recover several firearms that were reported stolen from Anson County. Spartanburg Sheriff's Office shared that many of the firearms recovered from the home were loaded.

Griffin is charged as a fugitive from justice in NC, a sex offender registry violation, and another sex offender registry violation from Spartanburg County.

Both Griffin and Lancaster were charged with unlawful conduct toward a child. That child has been placed in DSS custody.

All animals located on the property were removed by Spartanburg County Environmental Services and Animal Control and the house is now condemned.