TARBORO, N.C. (WNCN) — A Halifax County man who is charged with breaking into a Dollar General is believed to be connected to more than 50 commercial break-ins across 20 North Carolina counties, the Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.

On Feb. 4, deputies responded to the Dollar General on N.C. 43 North between Pinetops and Rocky Mount in reference to an alarm activation.

Upon the arrival of deputies and the on-call investigator, it was determined that the business had been broken into and a dozen cartons of Marlboro cigarettes had been stolen from the business.

Video surveillance was obtained of the suspect and evidence was collected at the scene, the sheriff’s office said. The suspect used a very unusual method of operation to make entry into the business, they said.

During the past year and two months, the Craven County Sheriff’s Office started collecting data and reaching out to law enforcement agencies across the state who had similar break-ins with the same unusual method of operation to make entry into the businesses.

The unusual method of entry, however, was not released to the public.

It was determined throughout multiple counties that the same suspect had committed break-ins with larceny of cigarettes in each case. Most counties involved started communicating with Craven County and comparing evidence and video footage of the suspect.

A timeline was established and a suspect vehicle was determined to be a white Cadillac, according to the Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office.

After reviewing the video evidence, it was determined that all counties were dealing with the same suspect in reference to the break-ins and larceny of cigarettes.

On Friday, after a store was broken into in Rockingham County, the suspect was captured and taken into custody after a four-hour extensive search, the sheriff’s office said. The suspect’s white Cadillac was also found in the area.

The suspect was identified as 60-year-old Dalian Keith Green of Weldon. He is currently being held at the Rockingham County Jail in Wentworth.

Green has been linked to 52 commercial break-ins in 20 counties since 2020.

All counties have not charged him yet but he has been charged with many of the break-ins and is under a $700,000 secure bond with more charges to come, the sheriff’s office said.

Furthermore, the Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office has charged Green with felony breaking and entering and felony larceny after breaking and entering.