Spotsylvania Police Break Up Juvenile Burglary Ring

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The Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday that it has broken up a burglary ring with the arrest of seven juvenile suspects who allegedly stole items from more than 20 vehicles and homes.

The burglary ring began operating in January 2014 and continued until February, when detectives with the sheriff’s office found enough evidence to make a criminal case against the suspects and arrest them, according to Sheriff Roger L. Harris. The names of the suspects were not released because of their legal status as juveniles.

In a statement, Harris said the investigation took a long time because “the burglary suspects were spacing out their time tables and were hitting at different times of the day and night, making it appear that the crimes were unrelated.”

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The burglars stole cash, credit cards, cellphones, laptop computers, electronic games, clothing and firearms, Harris said. Some of the stolen property has been recovered, but detectives are working to locate the remainder. Several other burglaries, which may be attributed to the teen suspects, are still under investigation.

The detectives identified the seven suspects after months of investigative work, which included serving 11 search warrants at suspect homes, obtaining evidence from laptop computers and cell phones, and developing matches to suspect fingerprints found at some of the scenes, Harris said.

All suspects were subsequently detained on petitions filed with the local Juvenile Court, and detention orders were served on each of them.