Suspects apprehended in recent rash of items stolen from Greenwood unlocked vehicles
Posted by GSDispatch Editor in by Greenwood Police Department
On July 28, at about 12:30 a.m., the Greenwood Police Department (GWPD) received some reports of thefts and attempted thefts of items located in the interiors of unlocked, unsecured automobiles, of which most of the stolen items from the interiors of the automobiles were in plain view. All of the thefts from the automobiles happened on the east side of Allendale Lake Rd. between Raven Dr. and Spruce Dr., and were estimated to have only taken a few seconds to steal each item.
On or about that same date and time, GWPD received information about 2 suspicious persons parking and exiting multiple vehicles in the area of Meadows Ln. and approaching parked automobiles in the area to see if they were unlocked.
Officers found the suspect parked automobiles and began searching for the suspects. After being apprised of the situation by the on duty personnel, Lake Winnebago, Lake Lotawana, Jackson County Sheriffs Department and the GWPD converged on the area east of Allendale Lake Rd. (Spruce Dr. – Rayce Dr.) and found interior dome lights on in automobiles.
The suspects later returned to their vehicles and were stopped in the area of Allendale Lake Rd. and Huntington Dr. The suspects were 1 adult (18 years of age from Lee’s Summit, Mo.) and 2 juveniles (16 years of age from Pleasant Hill, Mo.) The suspects were taken into custody for curfew violations, trespassing, suspicion of attempted stealing and or stealing and contributing to the delinquency of juveniles by allowing them to be out past curfew.
An inventory of the suspect vehicles was completed before they were towed which brought additional charges. All of the suspects were transported to the department and the adult was kept separate from the juveniles per rules and regulations.
The adult suspect was given his Miranda Warning and he agreed to be interviewed. In addition, the adult suspect admitted that he and the two juvenile suspects had been stealing items from unlocked automobiles during the evening in the area where they had parked their automobiles.
The suspect agreed to reveal the location of the stolen items and led Greenwood’s Captain Robert Leslie to a wooded area located in the vicinity of the backyard of 801 Spruce Dr., where two backpacks filled with numerous items were recovered. In addition, the suspect said that Greenwood was the easiest place to steal things because people who live here are stupid and leave expensive things just lying out in unlocked automobiles, and indicated that the reason he was stealing the items was he needed money for his family. After obtaining a written statement from the suspect in regards to the stealing from automobiles, the adult suspect was charged with numerous violations of the law and transported to jail.
The two juvenile suspects were interviewed after their parents arrived to the GWPD and agreed to allow the juvenile suspects to be interviewed. After reading them their McMillan Warning along with the Miranda Warning, the two juvenile suspects admitted their involvement in the stealing from automobiles and provided written statements of the incident. The juvenile suspects were charged with numerous violations of the law and released to their parents. Most of the stolen items have already been returned to their owners.
It appears that the aforementioned suspects were also stealing from other unlocked automobiles located in other jurisdictions. Information will be forwarded to the respective agencies.
The adult suspect (suspect #1) is facing charges of stealing, possession of stolen property, trespassing, contributing to the delinquency of juveniles and possession of drug paraphernalia. The second suspect (juvenile) faces charges of stealing, trespassing, possession of stolen property, possession of drug paraphernalia and curfew violation. The third suspect (juvenile) faces charges of stealing, possession of stolen property, possession of a dangerous instrument, possession of tobacco products and impersonation of an emergency vehicle (possessed a 12 volt red and blue LED emergency light). No further information taken at this time.
