HENRY COUNTY, Va. (rbs news now) — A Henry County man is in jail after authorities say he threatened employees and damaged gaming machines inside a store’s game room with a power tool while armed with a firearm.

Deputies responded September 27 to a report of an armed man vandalizing the J&H Market on Preston Road.

Witnesses told deputies that Thornton Burnette, 41, of Tanyard Road, became irate after losing money in the store’s game room.

Burnette, who was visibly armed, demanded money back from employees before briefly leaving the store, investigators said.

He later returned carrying both a firearm and a cordless angle grinder, threatened to harm others, and used the tool to damage gaming machines, according to authorities.

Surveillance video confirmed the account, showing Burnette cutting into a machine and smashing its screen.

Multiple customers and employees fled the building in fear.

The sheriff’s office said deputies were previously unaware of the gambling room or its machines, which remain under investigation.

Authorities later identified Burnette as a convicted felon.

He was arrested without incident on September 29 at his Martinsville workplace.

Burnette faces several charges, including destruction of property, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, possession of burglary tools, and attempted robbery.

He is being held without bond at the Henry County Adult Detention Center.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Henry County Sheriff’s Office at 276-638-8751 or Crimestoppers at 276-632-7463.

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