Stolen property worth $50,000 recovered from Newport home

Newport, Tenn. (WATE) — Following an investigation into a burglary at a White Pine home over the weekend, Jefferson County deputies have recovered more than $50,000 worth of property from a home in Newport.

According to the sheriff’s office, deputies responded to a residence on Lakeshore Drive in White Pine over the weekend because of a report of a burglary. When they arrived, they found that someone had entered the home through the rear door and a prybar was nearby.

During the investigation, a neighbor told deputies that they had seen a U-Haul at the residence and became suspicious, so they took pictures of the vehicle. The sheriff’s office said one of those photographs helped investigators get information that led them to determine who had rented the truck.

The sheriff’s office explained that the investigators and detectives with the Cocke County Sheriff’s Office went to the residence on Jayce Way in Newport and immediately observed items near a building that they suspected had been taken during the burglary. JCSO said authorities then located the man who rented the U-Haul, identified as a Christopher Driggers, 48, and he was detained.

During their investigation, investigators located items reported stolen in a burglary on Lakeside Drive and items reported stolen from the jurisdictions of the Cocke and Sevier County Sheriff’s Offices and the Pittman Center Police Department.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said Driggers is being held at the Jefferson County Detention Center under a $100,000 bond with pending charges in Cocke and Sevier counties and Pittman Center.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side.