Alleged mastermind of Buckeye Lake burglary in custody

BUCKEYE LAKE – After more than a month, police said they have the alleged mastermind of an armed burglary in custody.

Dereak W. Avery, 34, last known address 109 Lakewood Drive, Apt. B, Hebron, was charged with aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony. He appeared Wednesday in front of Licking County Common Pleas Magistrate Mattie Klein for a bond hearing, and Klein set bond at $75,000.

On Jan. 18, Avery was suspected of breaking into a home and robbing the occupants at gunpoint, according to a statement of facts.

The victim stated she was sitting on the couch watching television when two masked males carrying handguns forced entry into her living room and demanded Percocet. One of the suspects held a gun to the male victim’s head and threatened to shoot him if he moved, according to the statement of facts.

When the female victim told the men she had only oxycodone, one of the suspects grabbed her by the arm and forced her down a hallway to her bedroom where she kept her medication, took the medication and fled the residence, the statement said.

During their investigation, officers reported they discovered Avery was involved in the home invasion. Several people reported Avery made statements implicating himself in the incident, and a juvenile suspect who confessed to his involvement in the home invasion told detectives Avery was the one who planned and organized the burglary, according to the statement of facts.

The juvenile suspect, Joshua Lampton, 17, appeared in juvenile court Feb. 26, where he entered deny pleas to aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony; theft of drugs, a fourth-degree felony; and aggravated menacing, a first-degree felony. A probable cause hearing for Lampton will be scheduled in the coming weeks.