Lindsay Duncan
EL DORADO — Multiple incidents of breaking and entering in vehicles and residences have been reported throughout Union County in the last month, according to reports from the Union County Sheriff’s Office.
Approximately $200 was stolen from the center console of a vehicle parked at a residence on Shady Grove Road in El Dorado on Wednesday. The complainant told Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Taylor that he let his dogs out and they chased after a woman, who then started a “pleasant but strange conversation,” according to the sheriff’s report.
The woman excused herself after the short conversation and then the complainant’s wife checked her vehicle and noticed that a money box had been stolen from the center console. The complainant also told Taylor that he kept seeing a small white vehicle in the neighborhood and believed the suspect was driving that vehicle.
Taylor found the vehicle later and conducted a traffic stop. The driver stated that she was about to call the sheriff’s office because there were strange people walking around and she believed them to be thieves. The passenger knew the female suspect and her boyfriend.
The boyfriend of the female suspect was located walking on Shady Grove Road and was stopped by Taylor. He told Taylor that they were visiting a friend when the two of them got into an argument and began walking home. The two got separated later and when the boyfriend called for the female, she ran away into the woods.
According to the report, the complainant declined fingerprint samples from inside the vehicle because of the mess that the fingerprint dust creates. The outside of the vehicle had too much dew on it to try and get a fingerprint sample.
In another incident, three firearms, including a Glock 17 9mm, a black Taurus Judge and a stainless steel .38 Lady Smith and Wesson, were allegedly stolen on April 13 while the complainant had a moving company move items from one residence on Nick Springs Road to another on Pickering Road.
The complainant didn’t notice the firearms missing until April 22 and said he believes that an employee of the moving company was the one who was responsible for the theft. The complainant also did not have any serial numbers. The estimated value of the firearms was approximately $1,300.
Three work trucks at a business on Pershing Highway were rummaged through on Thursday morning with nothing stolen from the vehicles, according to another UCSO report.
A complainant arrived at work at 5:30 a.m. to find that his work truck had been rummaged through and, according to a report by the UCSO, the dome interior light of the truck was on and the passenger door was ajar.
Sergeant Jim Sanders arrived on the scene and a further search concluded that three of the trucks had been rummaged through. Small footwear impressions were found in the mud and there was a hole that had been cut in the fence. Sanders was able to pour casting material over the footprint to collect as evidence. Sanders could also see the direction of the suspect’s travel, according to the report.
“In the event of getting a time frame of when the subject was at the vehicles, we went to a different work truck and timed the relay on the dome light to know when it would actually turn off when the passenger door was opened … The result was 10 minutes,” according to the UCSO report.
Sanders advised the owners of the property and business that if they find anything missing to notify the UCSO.