KENTUCKY COMPUTER THIEVES ARRESTED Louisville police charge six in 22 burglaries

Police called them the Rock Bandits — a burglary ring that is suspected of smashing backdoor windows of 150 to 200 homes across Louisville to steal belongings they could later pawn.

From Sept. 25 to Nov. 15, the ring allegedly broke into three to five homes a day, taking jewelry, DVD players, laptop computers and guns in middle- to upper-class suburban neighborhoods.

A traffic stop last week brought their crime spree to a sudden halt, police say.

Police matched a car to one described near the break-ins, then found mail inside belonging to a retired police officer whose home had been burglarized twice.

"That put the whole pie together," said Sgt. James Hellinger, a detective in the 3rd Division.

Now, three halfway house residents and their girlfriends have been charged in 22 burglaries, Hellinger said, and are suspects in more than 150 additional burglaries.

Victims like Norma Gray are wondering if they will ever get their possessions back.

Earlier this month, Gray came home to find her house ransacked — and her mother's diamond wedding ring gone.

As a little girl, she had helped her father pick out the ring.

When her mother died more than a year ago, Gray tucked the ring away with her own jewelry, intending to give it to her 13-year-old daughter someday.

Gray lost other jewelry also, but it is the ring she misses most.

"That was the most upsetting thing," Gray said.

Quick trip to pawnshop


Hellinger said the group would take the items they stole to several local pawnshops to get cash.

"This group was so addicted to the money they kept going," Hellinger said. "The only way they were going to stop was if they got arrested."

Michael Barkley, 28, Steven Harrison, 36, and LaQuan Owsley, 26, have all been charged with 22 counts of burglary. Harrison and Owsley each also face one charge of robbery in connection with a Sept. 28 robbery at the Rally's at 5506 New Cut Road, Hellinger said.

Three women — who were dating the men and allegedly served as lookouts and getaway drivers and who allegedly pawned items — were also arrested.

Jessica Hockensmith, 19, and Lindsay Reese, 25, have been charged with four counts each of burglary. Jennifer Shepherd, 23, is charged with one count of receiving stolen property over $300.

The beginning

The break-ins began the day, Harrison told police during an interview, that he arrived in Louisville from Dayton, Ohio — assigned to live in a halfway house on Griffiths Avenue because he was on parole for an Ohio robbery charge, Hellinger said.

All the men arrested were living either in the house on Griffiths or another halfway house on Rowan Street.

Within a week of the first burglary, Hellinger said he began to notice similarities in some burglaries.

One of the men would go to the front door, and if someone answered, ask, "Is Jennifer here?" and then move on, Hellinger said.

If no one answered, the man would go to the back door and use a rock to break out a window pane so the door could be unlocked.

In some cases, the burglars kicked in or pried open the back door if there was no window to break. Hellinger said the men admitted that they would hit several houses in an area and then go right to pawnshops to get cash for the stolen items.

People pawning merchandise must show only identification and claim the items belong to them in order for pawnshops to buy them, said Lt. Danny Assef, who oversees the unit that investigates pawnshops.

Police estimate that the group was getting $500 to $1,000 a day from pawnshops.

Some witnesses in the areas of burglaries described a car to police — a red four-door Oldsmobile.

On Nov. 15, Officer Chris Bruce noticed a car fitting the description speeding out of a subdivision and made a traffic stop, Hellinger said.

When police searched the car, they found mail from one of the burglarized homes in the backseat, Hellinger said.

That led to the arrests.

Victim glad of arrests


Mark McCoy, whose home was burglarized on Oct. 2, said he's relieved arrests have been made.

"It's like the weight of the world off your shoulders just knowing they were caught," McCoy said.

Among the things stolen from the McCoys' home on Trappers Ridge Court was his wife's engagement and wedding rings, which he gave her when they were married 35 years ago.

McCoy said he's thankful no one was hurt in the break-in but said he's angry that people violated his home.

"We're hard workers," he said. "One thing I don't have ... use for is a thief."

Both McCoy and Gray said they don't know if they will ever see their heirlooms again, but they hope something can be done.

Police hope to be able to get stolen items returned to their rightful owners. Hellinger said officers are going through pawnshop records to match the stolen goods with the victims, but it is a time-consuming process. "Be patient," Hellinger advised.

Reporter Jessie Halladay can be reached at (502) 582-4081.