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Four charged in burglary case |
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Tuesday, 01 December 2009 |
By BRIAN HAWKINS
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Police have charged four young Starkville men with residential burglary and are investigating them in connection with numerous vehicle break-ins reported in and around the Cotton District Saturday evening and early Sunday morning.
The following suspects were each charged with one count of burglary of a dwelling in a Saturday night break-in at 103 Lummus St.:
• Romarcus Antoin Gandy, 18, of 1613 Steadman Lane.
• Rodriquas Macon, 19, of 1619 Steadman Lane.
• Brandon Cannon, 19, of 1632 Steadman Lane.
• Billy Shed, 18, of 1273 Arnold Drive.
Bond for each of the suspects was set at $10,000 apiece after they made an initial Municipal Court appearance Monday evening, and all but Shed were released on bond by late Monday night.
However, the four are under investigation in connection with at least 10 vehicular burglaries in the Cotton District, as well as numerous other vehicle break-ins that have occurred around the city in recent weeks, said Starkville Police Department Sgt. Chadd Garnett on Monday.
Charges in the vehicular burglaries are pending, Garnett said Monday. Most of the vehicular burglaries were reported Sunday and Monday, Garnett said.
The four suspects were arrested after Starkville Police Department Sgt. Shawn Word stopped the blue 1998 Mercury Marquis on Highway 182 at Tally Ho Drive for careless driving at 2:22 a.m. Sunday.
As he initially approached the car, Word
noticed the driver and the others in the car acting nervously, so he radioed other patrol officers to back him up.
When a small quantity of marijuana was discovered on one of the suspects, the officers then had probable cause to search their car, which led to the recovery of two laptop computers, a Sony Playstation 2 and controllers, digital cameras, a paintball gun, multiple MP3 players, a hunting knife, flashlight and a 9-mm handgun and box of ammunition.
The computers were password-protected, so the suspects could not access them, Garnett said.
“All the property was brought to the police station and investigators were called in,” Garnett said. “As the suspects were being questioned, the resident on Lummus Street came to the station to report the burglary, and we identified the Playstation and controllers as belonging to him.
“Also stolen from his home was a 40-inch Samsung flat-screen TV that we later located at one of the suspect’s homes on Steadman Lane,” Garnett added.
According to Municipal Court affidavits charging the four suspects in the Lummus Street burglary, all four gave statements confessing to the crime. The other stolen items that were recovered from the Mercury Marquis at the time of the suspects’ arrests are being linked to the vehicular burglaries Saturday night and early Sunday morning, Garnett said.
Anyone with information about the vehicular break-ins is encouraged to call the Police Department at 323-4131.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 04 December 2009 )
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