Home invasion case
Seventh suspect among two men captured Monday
By TIM GULLA Ledger Staff Writer tim@gaffneyledger.com

TATE

A good tip on the location of a Gaffney man accused of participating in a brutal home invasion turned up more than just one wanted man.

After executing a search warrant at a Concord, N.C., apartment Monday, a team of investigators seized more than 3/4 kilograms of cocaine and two weapons. Three men were taken into custody, according to Det. Sgt. Ron Ramsey of the Gaffney Police Department.

Gaffney police, along with SLED, have been on a manhunt in the wake of an April 2 home invasion on Providence Road during which a group of men broke into a home, beat a 32-year-old woman and stole the woman's keys to a nearby convenience store, where they broke into cash boxes.

Prior to Monday, police had six of the eight men in custody.

One of the two suspects who remained at large, 18- year-old John Bonner, was found in Concord, N.C., on Monday after Concord police, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations, the (South Carolina) State Law Enforcement Division and Gaffney police teamed up to obtain and execute a search warrant, Ramsey said.

Not only was Bonner taken into custody, Ramsey said investigators also found another Gaffney man - Lyman Tate - who is wanted in Cherokee County.

BONNER

Inside the home, Ramsey said investigators found 811 grams of cocaine and two handguns.

While North Carolina investigators could not be reached for additional details, both Bonner and Tate have been charged in Cabarrus County, N.C., with trafficking cocaine, according to jail booking records.

Bonner, whose address is listed as Villa Drive in Gaffney, is wanted on Cherokee County charges in connection with the April 2 home invasion. His alleged accomplices already in custody face charges of burglary, grand larceny, armed robbery, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and kidnapping.

Tate, 25, of Sarratt Street, Gaffney, is wanted by Gaffney police, the 7th Circuit Solicitor's Office and Adult Probation and Parole, according to Ramsey.

The two men have already appeared before a North Carolina magistrate in Concord following their arrest.

Bonner's bond on the cocaine trafficking charge was set at $500,000, while his bond on a fugitive warrant from South Carolina was set at $200,000.

Tate's bond on the cocaine trafficking charge also was set at $500,000, while his bond on the fugitive warrant was set at $50,000.

The identity of the third man arrested Monday in Concord was not immediately available.

Both Bonner and Tate remained in the Cabarrus County Jail on Tuesday afternoon. Should either man make bond on the cocaine trafficking charge they would be extradited to Cherokee County.

Police still are on the lookout for another man wanted in connection with the home invasion - 21-year-old Josh Manning, who had a last known address on West Smith Street. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact Gaffney police.