Police break burglary ring

Font Size:

By Ann McGlynn | Tuesday, November 13, 2007 5:15 PM CST | () comments

Samuel L. Wires, Erwin S. King, and Augustus Sullivan may be responsible for dozens of break-ins in the Quad-Cities. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Breaking down doors or pushing through screens of unlocked windows, four young men burglarized at least 42 homes and businesses and perhaps as many as 150, Davenport police said Tuesday.

Using a stolen car that led to the first break in the case, they drove the city all hours of the day and night during the summer and fall, searching for houses with no one home, said Bill Thomas, the lead detective on the case.

Most of the time, they were successful and hauled out big-screen televisions, computers, DVDs, tools, jewelry and coins, Thomas said.

When they found someone inside, they left, he said.

While authorities expect more arrests and more items to be recovered, officials said, charged are:

-- Erwin S. King, 19, of Davenport. He was arrested on Oct. 16, two weeks after afternoon-shift patrol officers found the stolen car used in the burglaries abandoned. The fingerprints of two of the suspects were found inside. King implicated three others in the crimes, showed detectives homes and businesses they burglarized and estimated the number of burglaries between June 1 and his arrest at no less than 150, Thomas said. He is charged with multiple counts of burglary and theft.

-- Samuel L. Wires, 21, is charged with four counts of burglary and two counts of second-degree theft.

-- Augustus Sullivan, 28. Sullivan lives at 1013 Tremont, the house searched Friday night by Davenport police officers. They found $15,000 worth of items stored at the residence. He is charged with one count of second-degree theft.

-- Arthur Allen, 18, who remains wanted. He is accused of three counts of burglary and two counts of second-degree theft.

Victims of the burglaries will be able to have their stolen items back after the court cases for the defendants are through, Thomas said. Some of the owners of burglarized homes never filed reports, officials noted.

Ann McGlynn can be contacted at (563) 383-2336 or amcglynn@qctimes.com.