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Online Tool Helps Bust Burglary Ring
By Roslyn Anderson Jackson 03/21/07 (Excerpt)
Hinds and Copiah county investigators break up a house burglary ring responsible for at least a dozen break ins. Officials say the key to their capture is LEADS Online, the latest high-tech crime-fighting tool. Hinds County investigators Wednesday displayed five stolen high powered rifles and shot guns recovered by Hinds and Copiah County deputies in a two-county house-burglary ring bust.
Authorities have arrested Willie T. Harris, 25, William E. Cooper, 34, and Patrick Cooper, all of Crystal Springs. They are charged with 12 house burglaries in Hinds and Copiah counties dating back to early February. "The driver would take off, leave and then come back when the person that broke in the house had gotten all the goods together," said Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin. "So you wouldn't have a vehicle parked out there that people would be suspicious about."
The investigative law enforcement website led to tracking down the stolen guns, computers and other electronics (www.leadsonline.com). Law officers were able to locate and recover most of the items at local pawn shops because owners had recorded their serial numbers. "We encourage folks that have stuff that can be easily stolen -- like guns, computers, cameras, tape video recorders -- to do serial numbers and keep them somewhere in their home so we can get a list of them immediately and compare with leadsonline.com," said Copiah County Sheriff Harold Jones.
William Cooper, who had a prior felony conviction, was released from Parchman in October. Copiah county officials say that's when burglaries began picking up in the area. The men are being held at the Copiah County Detention Center.
Investigators are in the process of recovering more stolen items.
Online system corrals alleged burglars
By Leah Rupp March 22, 2007 (Excerpt)
The three men thought they had it down to a science - in and out with no suspicious vehicle waiting outside. But the serial numbers on the firearms, desktop computers, PlayStations and other stolen property got them caught. The Crystal Springs men were arrested in connection with at least 12 home burglaries in Hinds and Copiah counties. Willie Todd Harris Jr., 25, William Edward Cooper, 34, and Patrick Cooper, age unavailable, have been charged in the slew of burglaries, the first of which occurred in early February, Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin said Wednesday.
Law enforcement officials attribute finding the alleged burglars and thousands of dollars in stolen property to relatively new inventory software called LEADS Online. The Madison County Sheriff's Department, as well as the Canton, Ridgeland and Jackson police departments, have access to the system, McCreery said. By law, a person selling items to a secondhand store or pawn store must show identification.
A string of church burglaries in the rural part of the county that occurred in June 2006 was solved the same way, McCreery said. "Always remember to mark your property," McMillin said, "something we can identify it with even if it doesn't have a number." |
