Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office nabs suspected burglary ring
Published 10:38 pm Thursday, December 28, 2017
James Blount
Franklin Blount
Debra Blount
Shannon Townsend
Christina Hodges
Tia Dixon
After several weeks of detailed investigation, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office made six arrests Wednesday in connection to a large number of area robberies.
Five of the individuals taken into custody are from Bogue Chitto. They are James Joseph Blount, 23, Franklin Wayne Blount, 20, and Debra Ann Blount, 50, of 2439 Lee Drive, and Shannon Dewayne Townsend, 20, and Christina Diane Hodges, 22, of 2443 Lee Drive.
Tia Rose Dixon, 19, of 111 Stogner Road in Foxworth was also arrested.
According to Sheriff Steve Rushing, the alleged thieves are responsible for a string of four Lincoln County burglaries that date back to the beginning of December.
“Enterprise School was the first to file a report,” he said. “They reported that someone had broken into their field house and stolen a sound system.”
Shortly after the Enterprise break-in, the field house at the West Lincoln Attendance Center was also burglarized. In that case, the perpetrators absconded with a sound system and a television.
A criminal pattern quickly emerged, and local law enforcement went on high alert after a microwave was taken from a rent house on Lee Drive, and an air conditioning unit and television were pilfered from a home on Brister Street.
“Over a period of time, they stole a variety of things, from sound systems to Weed Eaters,” Rushing said.
According to law enforcement officials, the alleged burglars targeted buildings they knew were empty of people. They also took advantage of hazardous weather conditions, breaking into structures when they knew they were least likely to get caught.
After some of the stolen property was recovered from a pawn shop, officers started connecting the crimes to Dixon, Hodges, Townsend and the Blounts.
“They pawned some of the stolen property out of state in Louisiana, and they sold some of it on the street,” Rushing said.
As of Thursday, sheriff’s deputies were still in the process of recovering goods stolen during the crime spree.
Meanwhile, the alleged thieves are also being investigated for several storage unit burglaries in Pike and Walthall counties.
Rushing said it’s not entirely surprising that the robberies took place in December, because local crime tends to amplify during the Christmas season.
As New Year’s approaches, if you plan on to leave your home for an extended period of time, let the sheriff’s office know, and they will add your address to their list of extra patrols.
“Also, it’s a good idea to tell somebody you trust to keep watch over your property while you’re away,” Rushing said. “And make sure your vehicles are always locked.”
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