TENNESSEE STOLEN COMPUTERS RECOVERED Theft ring busted:

Theft ring busted
Mary Jo Denton
Herald-Citizen Staff
Friday, Sep 11, 2009

UPPER CUMBERLAND -- Where are all those laptop computers, flat screen TV's, and X-Box game systems stolen in burglaries here over the past several months? Police in three counties now say they know the answer. They have busted a multi-county burglary ring and have recovered over $50,000 worth of computers, TV's, video game systems and other items that burglars have been stealing in Putnam and nearby counties for the past year.

Many of the home and vehicle burglaries that have occurred here over the past year will now be solved, Cookeville Police and Putnam Sheriff's officers say. Detectives are working long hours trying to sort through the stashes of stolen goods they uncovered this week at locations in Putnam and Overton County, but the six suspects in the case have not yet been charged, according to Livingston Police Chief Greg Etheredge. Etheredge said evidence against the six, including at least five alleged thieves and one person who is accused of buying and stockpiling the stolen items, will be presented to grand juries in at least three counties, Putnam, Overton, and Jackson.

Cookeville Police Chief Bob Terry said his detectives and Putnam Sheriff's detectives expect to solve 60 to 70 residential and vehicle burglaries through this investigation. Terry said about $45,000 worth of goods stolen from Cookeville homes and cars and from homes in rural Putnam has been recovered in the case. Putnam Sheriff David Andrews said, "Sometimes it takes a while, but we always just keep plugging on cases, trying to get people their property back. We're going to keep doing that." Etheredge said the big break in the massive case came about through an investigation of a home burglary in Jackson County in which a laptop computer and a Playstation 3 video game had been stolen. Jackson County Sheriff's Detective Gary Ledbetter conducted that investigation, and in the course of it, he and Chief Etheredge apprehended suspects in Livingston.

As the two officers continued probing, they learned of a theft ring "involving at least six individuals over the last year committing burglaries of homes and vehicles in Putnam County, Jackson County, and Overton County," Etheredge told the Herald-Citizen on Thursday.

"As the case proceeded, we learned that a large part of the stolen property had been sold to one individual that owns property in Overton County and lives just outside the city limits of Cookeville in Putnam County," Etheredge said. On Sept. 8, all the officers from the various police agencies now involved -- the Cookeville Police, Putnam Sheriff's Department, Jackson County Sheriff's Department, Algood Police, Overton Sheriff's Department, Livingston Police, and the District Attorney's office -- pooled their knowledge and resources "to make this case come together," he said.

They obtained search warrants for several places in Overton County and Putnam County and recovered a large stash of the stolen property, he said. "We recovered dozens of laptop computers, flat screen televisions and monitors, iPods, and car stereos. During our searches, many items were identified on the spot by Cookeville Police Detective Chase Mathis and Putnam Sheriff's Detective Mike Hoover from previous burglary reports they had on file." He said the stolen items have been moved to police evidence rooms and said detectives are working hard to match the items to the many theft and burglary cases they have been investigating for months.

Cookeville Police Capt. Nathan Honeycutt said the property owners who had recorded the serial numbers of their belongings before they were stolen and those who had password protected their computers "obviously have made it easier for detectives to match up the items with their owners." Honeycutt also said, "This is an ongoing investigation, and several arrests are expected."

All the law officers commented on the importance of the cooperation among all the agencies, and Etheredge called it "historic" due to the number of agencies working together in the case. "This is what happens when law enforcement cooperates together," Etheredge said. "That cooperation was just great, and the results speak for themselves.

"Detectives taking the lead in this investigation included Det. Gary Ledbetter and Det. Donathan Durham of Jackson County, Det. Chase Mathis of Cookeville Police, Det. Mike Hoover of Putnam Sheriff's Department, Det. Gary Harris and Det. Bryant Swallows of Algood Police, Det. Chuck Castle, Det. Brian Franklin, Det. Kenny Cherry of Overton Sheriff's Department, and Det. Tim Poore and Det. Jacob Boswell of Livingston Police."

He also said that District Attorney Randy York provided legal guidance in the handling of the investigation. Terry said, "This investigation shows that all the investigators in this area have an ongoing professional relationship, and this is where it paid off." Andrews said, "All the officers have put in many long hours in this effort, and the cooperation among agencies has been valuable."