On Friday, July 11, after a four-day trial, Brian Prince, 43, from Hendersonville, was found guilty in
Henderson County Superior Court of the crimes of Breaking and Entering, Larceny after Breaking
and Entering, Possession of Stolen Property, Possession of Burglary Tools, Safecracking, and
Misdemeanor Resisting a Lawful Arrest. The jury also determined Prince was a Habitual Offender,
which requires the State to prove the defendant was convicted of three distinct prior felonies prior
to committing the underlying felony crimes for which he was found guilty, announced R. Andrew
Murray, District Attorney for Henderson, Polk, and Transylvania Counties. Special Superior Court
Judge Hoyt Tessener presided over the Henderson County Criminal Superior Court Session and
sentenced the defendant.
According to the investigation and court trial records, the Hendersonville Police Department
received a 911 communication that someone was actively burglarizing the Back On Track Resale
Store and Addiction Ministries (Back On Track) business establishment at approximately 5:00 a.m.
on October 14, 2021. Back-on-Track Ministries is a non-profit agency that provides addiction
recovery programs and family support groups. The director of Back On Track had received an
alert from the agency’s security system that someone had broken into their building. The
Hendersonville Police Department immediately responded with multiple units. Upon arrival, one
of the responding officers witnessed, through a window, someone attempting to pry open a safe
inside the building. As officers set up a perimeter around the building and developed a plan to
locate the intruder, the defendant, Prince, exited the building and took off running. Officers
immediately pursued Prince, some on foot and others in their service vehicles. Prince was quickly
apprehended and, after a brief struggle, handcuffed and placed under arrest. A search of Prince’s
person located cash and other items that were later determined to be the property of Back On
Track.
Judge Tessener sentenced the defendant to a minimum term of 100 months and a
maximum term of 132 months for the Felony Breaking and Entering conviction as a Habitual
Offender, and an additional consecutive sentence of a minimum term of 100 months and a
maximum term of 132 months for the Felony Larceny conviction as a Habitual Offender. The
combined sentence totaled 200 to 264 months to be served in the North Carolina Department of
Adult Corrections. The sentences on the remaining convictions were to run concurrently to the
200 to 264-month sentence already imposed.
Assistant District Attorney Clifton Neal handled the prosecution and sentencing of these crimes.
District Attorney Andrew Murray thanks the Henderson County Police Department, and especially
the responding officers, for their professional response and thorough investigation of this case.
“For at least the next 17 years, Prince, a prolific criminal offender, will not be violating or harming
any member of this community we collectively strive to protect.”
