Two men are in custody following the seizure of stolen items.

During a recent drug investigation, the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office Drug Unit received information that two men recently broke into various storage units and stole multiple items, including dirt bikes. The ECSO Drug Unit contacted the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team (CNT) with information that some of the storage items were possibly located in Chatham County.

CNT agents identified a storage unit in Chatham County and found multiple items inside Tuesday night. One of the items found was a set of golf clubs that had a name on them. Agents were able to contact the owner, a soldier stationed at Fort Stewart, and discovered the last time the owner saw the clubs was at his storage unit in Bryan County.

The Bryan County Sheriff’s Office located the solder’s unit and confirmed it had been broken into. Deputies also confirmed that additional units were broken into. CNT agents were able to contact another owner whose unit was also broken into and discovered that two dirt bikes recovered by CNT, were his.

The victims were out of town for the holidays and were unaware they had been victimized until notified by law enforcement.

CNT agents arrested 26-year-old Austin Flanagan and 27-year-old Lance Bazemore, both of Savannah, at separate locations. Both men confessed to being involved in the burglaries. Flanagan and Bazemore were charged with multiple felony charges to include six counts of theft by receiving stolen property and conspiracy. Bazemore also was wanted by the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office.

Both men are being held at the Chatham County Detention Center and are expected to be arraigned today in the Chatham County Recorder’s Court.

“This is a case where our agents partnered with surrounding county agencies to proactively solve a crime,” said CNT Director Everette Ragan. “We were able to recover the stolen items and alert the rightful owners immediately. The best part is we will be able to return the items to the owners when they return from holiday travel.”

The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are expected.