ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — A local man who was a registered sex offender was sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in state prison following a guilty plea in Buncombe County Superior Court last week.
According to a Nov. 9 news release from the Buncombe County District Attorney’s Office, Terry Lee Branks, 46, of Arden, pleaded guilty on Nov. 5, 2026, to first-degree burglary, larceny after breaking and entering, indecent exposure and failure to register as a sex offender.
Superior Court Judge Alan Thornburg sentenced Branks to serve 120 to 156 months (10 to 13 years) of active prison time in the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, the DA’s Office said in the release.
The charges stem from an investigation by the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office into incidents reported on May 22, 2026, near Ledbetter Road and Daphne Drive in Arden. Deputies responded to reports of an individual exposing himself and masturbating on a dirt road behind a resident’s home, according to court records.
During the investigation, deputies discovered that Branks had entered a neighboring home while the resident was asleep, stealing items including a backpack, makeup and wallets, the release said. Law enforcement officers subsequently identified Branks with assistance from community members and recovered a portion of the stolen property.
According to court records, investigators further established that Branks was out of compliance with statutory address verification requirements under the North Carolina Sex Offender Registry. Branks’ prior criminal history in Buncombe, Henderson and Gaston counties includes convictions for indecent liberties with a child, disseminating obscene material to a minor, assault on a female and multiple sex offender registry violations.
Following the entry of the plea, Branks was remanded to the custody of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction to begin serving his sentence, the release said.