Sex offender charged in burglaries of estranged wife’s home: Waynesboro

The Waynesboro Police Department has charged a Staunton man with two felony counts of breaking and entering stemming from ongoing burglaries into his estranged wife’s residence over an 18-month period.

Officers with the Staunton Police Department arrested James Andrew Anderson Jr., 44 years old, on the Waynesboro charges Tuesday evening.

In mid-July of this year, Anderson’s estranged 39-year-old wife spoke with detectives with the Department regarding Anderson entering her residence on North Winchester Avenue and violations of a protective order.  The two have been estranged for eight years.  Anderson is currently facing three misdemeanor charges of violation of protective orders against the victim.  While preparing for those cases, the commonwealth attorney requested police detectives to investigate the burglary allegations.

In early August, police officers served a search warrant at Anderson’s Staunton residence and found evidence linking him to the burglaries.  Police estimate that Anderson broke into the victim’s residence multiple times over an 18-month period beginning in January 2014 but consolidated the offenses to two charges.  Police also discovered a GPS device that Anderson put on the victim’s vehicle that enabled him to track her movements.

Anderson, who is a convicted sex offender from North Carolina, was out Anderson bond for the three protective order violation charges when he was arrested on the recent warrants.  He was released on a $2,000 bond.