Local authorities are in the process of bringing charges against two men believed to be responsible for more than a dozen automobile break-ins dating back to May, Winfield police Lt. Det. Frank Owens said Tuesday.
The suspects won’t be named until formal charging documents have been filed, Owens said.
"We’re going to be able to clear a number of cases," he said. "At this point we know of at least 12 incidents in Winfield and several in Ark City."
A break in the case came Aug. 13 when officers were investigating two incidents that had occurred over that weekend. One man questioned in the investigation had an outstanding warrant in another jurisdiction and was detained by police.
Officers investigated further and executed search warrants at the homes of the two male suspects. The warrants turned up pot, paraphernalia and stolen items that connected the men to the string of vehicle burglaries.
Owens estimates that the pair is responsible for $3,000 in criminal damage to property and $2,000 to $3,000 in stolen items. A list of formal charges will be available once charges are brought.
The items taken were most often GPS navigation systems, and an occasional police scanner and money. Video evidence exists of at least one of the men using a stolen financial card to make a purchase, Owens said.
"This was a bit of an unusual case for us, because 90 percent of the time we don’t really see damage to vehicles that are broke into," he said. "Normally the vehicles targeted are unlocked. But in these cases, the windows were broken. There were windows broken even when the car doors were already unlocked."
Ark City officials confirmed in a written statement that at least three break-ins have possibly been connected to the Winfield suspect. Several other car break-in related incidents in Ark City have been attributed to juvenile suspects.
