Sheriff seeking suspects in local robberies
By Staff Reports
Published in News on September 5, 2010 1:50 AM
The Wayne County Sheriff's Office has seen the number of residential break-ins increase in the past two months in Wayne and surrounding counties -- and officials are hoping residents might be able to help bring the culprits to justice, Sheriff Carey Winders said.
Some of the larcenies, which typically happen during daytime hours, involve jewelry and guns, but the majority of the thefts involve flatscreen televisions, laptops and gaming systems, Winders said.
The Sheriff's Office has caught several individuals involved in a number of the thefts, but the same type of larcenies are still happening.
"The strange thing to me is that we are getting very little information on this. We have not found any of these items at pawn shops," Winders said.
That fact leads the sheriff to believe the items are being taken out of the region, and possibly out of state.
Initially a $500 reward for information that led to the recovery of stolen goods or arrests was offered, but no leads resulted. The Sheriff's Office has raised the reward to $1,000, and the sheriff is asking the public's help.
Winders advises residents to lock up their firearms and to record the serial code information on items like TVs, laptops and gaming systems. Without that information, police cannot verify potentially stolen goods.
He adds that people should not publicly announce their whereabouts on websites like Facebook.
"At times, people are gone from their home for less than an hour when these (thefts) are taking place," Winders said.
He is also asking residents to report suspicious activity in their neighborhood because criminals could be watching homeowners' coming and going habits.