photo by: Kansas Department of Corrections

Brian L. Farrar

A man accused of burglarizing dozens of homes in Lawrence since spring — stealing items of both monetary and sentimental value — is now facing 51 criminal counts from the alleged crimes.

Since Lawrence police announced his arrest in late November, Brian L. Farrar, 33, of Lawrence, has been charged with 20 counts of felony burglary, one count of felony attempted burglary, 29 counts of felony and misdemeanor theft, and one count of criminal damage to property.

He stole everything from bikes and cars to coffee machines and sports memorabilia from dozens of Lawrence residents, according to the criminal complaint in Douglas County District Court. One victim even reported the theft of a flute.

Farrar is jailed on $150,000 bond, according to court records. His preliminary hearing is scheduled over three days in February and March.

Police also announced the arrest of a second man in connection with the same crime spree, saying burglary charges against Jonathan J. Collins, 33, of Lawrence, were forthcoming.

As of late last week, Collins had been formally charged in just one of the same incidents Farrar had, according to a criminal complaint against him. Collins is charged with one count each of burglary and theft, both felonies.

Collins is being held on $20,000 bond. His preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 3.

photo by: Kansas Department of Corrections

Jonathan J. Collins

Asked why Collins didn’t have more charges, both the Lawrence Police Department and the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office said only that the investigation was still ongoing.

“All of these cases are considered active and ongoing investigations and we are unable to comment further at this time,” the DA’s office said in an emailed statement.

Lawrence police Sgt. Amy Rhoads said the investigations are “still very active and ongoing.”

The police department is still actively trying to return all the stolen goods to the victims, too.

“Investigators have been working diligently to locate and return stolen property to their correct owners, as well as following up on numerous leads in the case,” Rhoads said in an email. “We still have large amounts of stolen property that needs to be returned.”

If anyone was the victim of a burglary in the past year but hasn’t yet contacted police about their stolen property, Rhoads suggested they call the investigations division at 785-830-7430.

Elizabeth and Nolan Haire have done that — and did get back some of the items stolen from their home in the Deerfield neighborhood in early November.

But the most sentimental items that were stolen are still missing, Elizabeth Haire said. Other things can be replaced but it was “devastating” to lose jewelry that belonged to her grandmother and sports memorabilia she and her husband had framed from events they attended.

Those frames included the couple’s ticket stubs from University of Kansas Final Four appearances and the Orange Bowl, with magazines signed by some of the Jayhawks’ stars.

Haire said they’ve been checking Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, eBay and pawn shops for their special frames to no avail.

“They’re like trophies for my husband,” Haire said. “We’re not feeling very hopeful, unfortunately.”

photo by: Contributed photo

This snapshot from Lawrence resident Elizabeth Haire shows some of the framed University of Kansas memorabilia that was stolen from she and her husband’s home in early November 2018. Haire said they have recovered a few items that were taken but not these, which were some of the most sentimental.