Panama City couple charged with using sledgehammer to break into convenience store

PANAMA CITY − A local couple has been charged with breaking into a convenience store with a sledgehammer.

According to a press release from the Panama City Police Department, Panama City couple Brooke Erwin, 41, and Rhett Mason, 32, were charged on Saturday in the Nov. 12 break-in of VJ Mart, off Frankford Avenue in Panama City.

The release states detectives and crime-scene analysts with the department identified a suspect vehicle for the crime. That vehicle was then tracked to the home of Erwin and Mason.

"The pair initially told detectives that a juvenile was responsible for the break-in," the release reads. "During a search of the (suspect vehicle), investigators found gloves matching those of the burglary suspect, and two 'EZ-Up' tent bags the suspect used were found in the residence."

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Erwin and Mason drove a juvenile to the department to confess to the crime, police said. During interviews, the juvenile told detectives he offered to confess even though he did not participate in the burglary.

This led law enforcement to charge "Mason with burglary, two counts of possession of burglary tools and criminal mischief," the release reads. "Erwin was charged with principal to burglary, child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

"Both were booked into the Bay County Jail."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Police say Panama City couple broke into store, blamed it on minor