Video: Arrests May Break Lowndes Burglary String

Williams

Blevins

[bitsontherun UjgpRe5Y]

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) — Lowndes County investigators have arrested two men they say are responsible for as many as 60 percent of burglaries in the county in the last two months.

Steven Blevins, 30, and Eddie Williams, 28, were caught Thursday afternoon after deputy Greg Wright, who was in an unmarked car, spotted a suspicious car at a home on Jolly Ridge Road just off Ridge Road.

Investigators found pry marks on the door of the home and they think the two men may have tried to add that residence to the list of victims.

The silver Honda matched the description of a suspect vehicle reported near the scene of many of the burglaries.

Wright stopped the car and spotted what appeared to be stolen merchandise inside, including some pills stolen during the burglary of a Lamar County, Ala., home Thursday morning. That led to searches of two houses in East Columbus and the recovery of more stolen merchandise ranging from TVs and guns to a vacuum cleaner and swords. The two men apparently stayed at the homes at times, Sheriff Mike Arledge said.

Public help with tips and vehicle descriptions in recent weeks played a key role.

“We always want the public to help us because it’s going to take the public’s eyes to help us. It’s just a few of us and a lot of bad guys out there. We want to thank the public for helping us,” Arledge said.

Both men have prior records and face a variety of charges ranging from burglary to possession of a weapon by a felon.

They’ve been linked to at least six burglaries in Lowndes County and two in Lamar County. Burglary victims were viewing some of the recovered items today to try to identify their possessions.

Investigators think many of the stolen items already have been sold.

Arledge said the burglaries didn’t target any particular area but rather focused on isolated homes in rural areas. The thieves often used gloves and some rubber gloves were among the items seized Thursday. The sheriff said it appeared the burglars might hopscotch from one area to another, sometimes striking in Lamar County in the morning and then hitting Lowndes County in the afternoon.