Georgia man charged with burglarizing NASCAR driver Greg Biffle's home after plane crash

STATESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A Georgia man burglarized former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle's home after learning Biffle and his family died in a plane crash, a North Carolina sheriff said Tuesday.

Terrell Williams, 44, has been charged with second-degree burglary, safe cracking, money laundering and other felonies, Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell announced at a news conference. Williams was being held without bond in Cobb County, Georgia, on suspicion of another home burglary. Jail records did not list an attorney.

Campbell said investigators were led to Williams in July, when Cobb County police arrested him and found items taken from Biffle's home.

Biffle, his wife and his two children, along with three others, died in the Dec. 18 crash, which remains under investigation by the NTSB.

Authorities reported a break-in at the home on Jan. 8 and have said $30,000 in cash, two Glock handguns, NASCAR memorabilia and gold and silver coins were stolen.

Investigators have recovered some of the stolen items, including NASCAR memorabilia, Campbell said. They also found a radio-frequency detector they believe Williams used during the burglary to locate security cameras.

He said Williams is also suspected in another North Carolina burglary that occurred when a law enforcement officer was in the hospital.

“He used headlines, social media posts, different things to find out when people were and were not home, and he executed his plan in that capacity,” Campbell said.

Campbell said investigators have also identified a person of interest in a separate fraud case following the Biffle family's death.

Investigators have said bank, Venmo and PayPal accounts tied to the Biffles were accessed online using personal information, with phone numbers and email addresses changed to gain control of funds. Money was then allegedly transferred to accounts not belonging to the family and used for purchases, according to a search warrant affidavit.

At least one fraudulent check tied to Biffle’s business interests was cashed, and other attempts were made to access accounts. The activity occurred across multiple states.

This July 2026 booking photo provided by the Cobb County, Ga., Sheriff's Office, shows Terrell Williams, 44, who is being held in a Cobb County, Ga., jail and is facing charges in North Carolina in the burglary of late NASCAR driver Greg Biffle's home following his death in a plane crash. (Cobb County Sheriff's Office via AP)

FILE - Greg Biffle looks on during driver introductions before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Fla., Feb. 20, 2022. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

A Venezuelan former baseball player working for the San Diego Padres was detained by U.S. immigration officers after arriving in Texas on a work trip for the club, his family said Tuesday.

Oswaldo Pirela, a catching coach in the Padres' minor league system, was being held in a detention center in El Paso, federal records show. The Padres said in a statement that the team was aware of Pirela's arrest and was trying to gather more details.

Pirela was on a work trip when he was arrested Sunday around 5 a.m. at an airport in El Paso, according to Daniela Pirela, his sister. The Padres have a minor league affiliate team in the city, the El Paso Chihuahuas.

Daniela Pirela said her 34-year-old brother has lived in the U.S. for 12 years and has followed the law. She said he applied for asylum in 2015 and lives in Peoria, Arizona, with his wife and two children, ages 9 and 4, who are both U.S. citizens.

“Since he arrived in this country, the only thing he’s done is follow the rules of this country and do things properly,” Daniela Pirela told The Associated Press.

The Department of Homeland Security said Oswaldo Pirela entered the country legally in 2014 and was granted permission to stay until 2018. He then “overstayed his welcome,” DHS said in a statement, adding that work authorization or pending applications “do not confer” U.S. legal status.

Pirela is in ICE custody pending removal, DHS said.

Oswaldo Pirela had a brief minor-league playing career as a catcher in the Texas Rangers organization.

Turbay is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

FILE - Detailed view of a San Diego Padres logo on a pitching mound during batting practice prior to a baseball game between the Padres and Boston Red Sox, May 20, 2023, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Brandon Sloter, File)