COWLEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a series of thefts and burglaries and have a suspect in custody.
Police began taking burglary and theft reports on April 11 mainly in an area extending eastward from the East Chestnut Avenue bridge over the Walnut River. The reports ranged from the theft of golf carts and all-terrain vehicles to vehicle burglaries, according to a media release.
ACPD immediately identified the spike in crime in this area due, in part, to crime tracking software.
Patrol shifts began tackling the problem with increased physical presence and door-to-door crime prevention education. Bicycle officers also were deployed to the area as part of this increased presence.
ACPD’s investigations division began looking at the area and quickly identified a person of interest.
Trevor Scott Brown, 23, of Arkansas City, was arrested for a revoked bond. He was transported to and booked into the Cowley County Jail in Winfield with no bond through Cowley County District Court in Arkansas City.
Brown, had been arrested in January for similar crimes that occurred between October 2018 to January 2019 in the west part of Arkansas City. Brown was arrested Monday on an unrelated charge. At the time of his arrest, information was gathered that helped with this ongoing investigation.
Investigators later interviewed Brown at the county jail. At that time, detectives were able to gather direct information about all of the crimes in that area and locations to check for property that was stolen.
A majority of the stolen property since has been recovered.
During the course of the ACPD investigation, information surfaced connecting Brown to other crimes in Cowley County. Investigators worked closely with the Cowley County Sheriff’s Office to assist it in the investigation of those crimes.
The cases, which involved 12 residential victims and one business owner was forwarded to the Cowley County Attorney’s Office for consideration of additional burglary and theft charges.