A call of an auto burglary in progress led Lawrence police on Monday to arrest a Topeka man suspected of committing at least two western Lawrence auto thefts and eight auto burglaries in recent days.
Western Lawrence has seen a rash of car burglaries this month, including 13 that happened April 2 and 3 in the same area.
"They are still investigating this and investigating if there are any other people involved, if it's just this person, how many burglaries there are and what burglaries are tied to this," Lawrence Police spokeswoman Kim Murphree said.
The suspect, identified as a 29-year-old Topeka resident, was being held Monday evening in the Douglas County Jail on eight counts of auto burglary, eight counts of theft, two counts of auto theft, five counts of criminal damage, and fleeing to elude police.
Those cases include an April 3 auto theft in the 5200 block of Harvard Road, in which a family's Saab was stolen out of the home's open garage.
Police recovered the Saab on Monday near Crestline Drive and Peterson Road based on information they developed from the arrest earlier in the day.
On Monday, officers began looking for a stolen Toyota Tundra truck about 5:40 a.m. after a caller reported hearing an auto alarm in the 3000 block of Carrington Lane.
An officer spotted the truck near Sixth Street and Kasold Drive and tried to make a traffic stop. The driver fled north on Kasold and eventually abandoned the truck in the 600 block of North Durham Court.
An off-duty officer who happened to be in the area saw someone squatting next to a vehicle in a nearby driveway and helped police arrest the man after a foot chase.
The man had not been formally charged as of Monday.
Comments
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blue73harley (anonymous) says…
Yeah, I figured it would be someone from Redbud Lane ;-)
skinny (Richard Johnson) says…
I get so mad that the Lawrence Journal World refuses to print the names of people arrest or are selective in the ones they do print, which isn't often! This is public information and is available to all!! You'd think for the safety of their subscribers they'd print the information. The Topeka Capital, Manhattan Mercury, Wamego Smoke Signal, and Kansas City Star print this information! You know it is pretty bad that the folks here in Lawrence have to read the Kansas City Paper or Topeka paper to see what is going on here in Lawrence.
The information is available at the Douglas County Jail and the Lawrence Police Dept.
You may also look this information up on the Lawrence Police Departments web page; http://165.201.87.131/CIF/CIF/reports...
Justanopinion (anonymous) says…
When are they gonna arrest the people breaking into to cars in my neighborhood for the last 4 months? Oh thats right I live in North Lawrence...."its just a bunch of kids having fun" the police think.
Justanopinion (anonymous) says…
sorry that was a misquote it was not "...a bunch of kids having fun." it was just "...a bunch of kids" the having fun part was a line from personal anger that I just couldnt keep my fingers from typing....forgive me.
tim_hardaway (anonymous) says…
o poop.
Kontum1972 (anonymous) says…
squatting .......next 2 vehicle...oh crap!
sunflower97 (Amy Bartle) says…
Skinny - Thanks for posting the info that provides more detail. Justanopinion- Just keep calling the police and reporting the crimes and suspicious behavior. I have been doing that for 3 years in our west neighborhood. It's not a matter of discrimination by neighborhood - I just don't think our police force has the manpower to do all that is required of them. They do a great job with the resources that they have.
Confrontation (anonymous) says…
It's interesting that there's a report on the LPD site about a Corgy mix and a Border Collie attacking a Chihuahau (valued at $3199.00). Shouldn't that be front page news? Nope. There was no "dangerous" breed involved. Just friendly dogs tearing apart a smaller dog. Good times in Larryville.
mike_blur (Mike Blur) says…
Take the guy's name and plug it into the shawneecourt.org web site, and you will turn up a rap sheet longer than a Sleeztax' arm. Mostly burglary and drug possession (go figure).
In fact, IIRC (looked it up yesterday) he had an 18-month suspended sentence in effect when he got picked up.
leadrain (anonymous) says…
skinny
To answer your question, they haven't posted their name because they've yet to file the charges, most likely because they are gonna see if that is the ONLY crimes he's commited. But, I do agree that they should be posted as soon as the Law has their goods.
Scooter_Trash (anonymous) says…
Wow, that 911 caller has some good ears! He/she heard the car alarm in the 3000 block of Carrington Lane and the police report says the truck was stolen from the 500 block of Brentwood.
black_watch (anonymous) says…
You guys have no idea how cool it is that the city and PD provide information like the arrest reports and daily logs online. I've criticized them a lot in the past, but that's one thing that they're starting to do right, and I'd like to see even more in the future. I moved away from Lawrence recently, far, far away but to a town of a similar size; it doesn't have its act together anywhere near like Lawrence does. I still check back with the LJWorld, too, as you can see, just to see how the old homefront is. As awful as the paper can be, the paper out here is a thousand times worse.
Help Lawrence keep improving, and keep it progressive, please. Be a model for other communities, because out here in the rest of the world, it's a nightmare.
crazyks (anonymous) says…
I had a downstairs neighbor once whose car alarm went off every morning at 3 AM. Probably someone nearby came home about that time, and the noise set off the alarm.
Sad to say, I don't usually pay much attention to car alarms. They go off so frequently when nothing has happened, it's like the boy crying wolf.