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Break-in suspects held on charges |
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Tuesday, 05 February 2008 |
By ANNIE ZELM
Staff Writer
WAPAKONETA — Two men face up to three years in prison and up to $7,500 in fines for their alleged involvement in a string of break-ins and vandalisms to more than 70 vehicles in three counties.
Billy Ray Pate, 18, and Nicholas Redman, 18, both of Wapakoneta, were charged with one count each of grand theft, breaking and entering and possession of criminal tools, all fifth-degree felony offenses, Monday morning in Auglaize County Municipal Court.
Their bonds were set at $75,000 each, with a 10 percent cash provision, at the request of Auglaize County Prosecuting Attorney Ed Pierce.
“This is an ongoing investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies in Allen, Auglaize and Mercer counties dealing with dozens of possible thefts,” Pierce told Municipal Judge Gary Herman during the hearing. “Because of the number of charges involved...and the fact that there is a juvenile involved in this, that’s why the state is requesting a cash bond in addition to an OR (own recognizance) bond.”
A 17-year-old male also faces similar charges in the incident but has yet to be charged, St. Marys City Police Chief Greg Foxhoven said. He is being held at a juvenile detention center in Bellefontaine on probation violation charges.
During the hearing, Pate pleaded guilty to two other misdemeanor charges stemming from the incident — driving without an operator’s license, a first-degree misdemeanor, and driving without a license plate, a minor misdemeanor.
He faces a total of 180 days in jail and fines of up to $1,100 for the misdemeanor charges and also has an outstanding warrant for a burglary in North Carolina.
Further prosecution on the felony charges must be handled in Common Pleas Court. A case can be make it into Common Pleas Court if a grand jury issues an indictment or if a Municipal Court judge binds the case over following a preliminary hearing.
Both defendants expressed their inability to pay for an attorney and requested to be assigned a public defender.
Herman said separate preliminary hearings for each defendant will be scheduled at a later date because the prosecutor indicated their testimonies could implicate each other.
Pate, Redmond and the juvenile, whose name has not yet been released pending formal charges, were arrested Friday night as the result of a joint surveillance investigation by the St. Marys City Police and the Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office.
They were taken into custody at 10:23 p.m. Friday night following a traffic stop at Spring and Vine streets.
During the past three weeks, Foxhoven said vehicles in St. Marys, Wapakoneta, Celina, Rockford, Minster, New Bremen, New Knoxville and Spencerville were broken into.
According to police reports, the trio allegedly entered the vehicles and stole items such as cash, change and credit cards. In some cases, the vehicles were also vandalized including some with broken windows.
Seventeen break-ins occurred in New Knoxville last week. On Thursday night, a van parked in a lot in Minster had a window smashed with a piece of concrete and the owner’s purse along with its contents was stolen.
In Wapakoneta, Police Chief Dave Webb said he has also seen an increase in calls regarding vehicle thefts in the past few weeks.
Since mid-January, at least five purses were stolen from unlocked vehicles on separate occasions within the city. Two other incidents involved a suspect or suspects breaking the windows of locked vehicles to steal purses, according to police reports.
While the St. Marys Police Department initiated the surveillance detail in an effort to put an end to the break-ins, it was a joint venture with the Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office as well as other jurisdictions impacted by the thefts, Foxhoven said. Seven different law enforcement agencies had an interest in the arrest and sent representatives to St. Marys to interview the suspects.
Officers from the two departments staked out areas where the alleged thieves frequented in past break-ins.
They spotted the males acting suspiciously and initiated a traffic stop, where they viewed a number of items inside the car of value as evidence.
Foxhoven said drugs and drug paraphernalia also were present in the vehicle. A consent search of the vehicle resulted in the items being collected for evidence.
With the help of the Wapakoneta Police Department, officers also searched two apartments in Wapakoneta — one a consent search and one for which a warrant was obtained and more items were collected. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 08 February 2008 )
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