A Gaston man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges of accessory to burglary and malicious injury to property.

Joel Weston Dowd, age 39 of Gaston assisted other individuals in stealing firearms from a home in the Gaston area of Lexington County on May 13.

On July 9, Dowd attempted to burglarize a storage unit facility and steal a camper in Saluda County.

A concerned citizen who was mowing grass that day noticed him wearing a facemask and behaving unusually.

The concerned citizen attempted to prevent Dowd from leaving the storage facility by blocking him in with his vehicle.

Dowd and his accomplice drove through a fence to escape the scene and were later apprehended by law enforcement.