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Smithville Police Crack Major Burglary
Morgan

 


Through some good police work, Smithville Police were able to solve a late-night burglary where between $56,000 and $58,000 worth of items, including a vehicle, were stolen. Authorities say that with the help of the keen eyes of patrol officers, and good detective work, most of the missing items were recovered.

Authorities say that 22-year-old Joseph Morgan of Sycamore Creek Road, Woodbury, has been charged with burglary, felony theft over $10,000, and felony evading in the case.

According to Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins, the burglary occurred between the hours of 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 2, and 12:50 a.m. Sunday morning at Custom Collision Center in Smithville. Authorities say Morgan entered the building, loaded up a bunch of tools into a customer’s vehicle inside the business, and then made off with the car and stolen goods. Police believe the man had planned to steal more items, but was interrupted.

While the burglary was in progress, a Smithville Police sergeant who was patrolling the area, saw what was going on and a pursuit ensued. The suspect and the vehicle were lost on the north side of the city limits, but the car, a 2022 Kia Soul, was later recovered off of Holmes Creek Road, near the area known as Redneck Beach.

“The case originated from the officer doing some really good police work and doing some extra patrols,” Smithville Detective James Cornelius said. “We had got some complaints about some people back behind the elementary school, and he had gone back there. He ended up running into some people there, and got some names, and based on those names, along with the camera footage, we were able to develop a suspect fairly quick.”

The sergeant made extra patrols at SES, then ran some people off from behind Food Lion, then he patrolled the County Complex parking lot when he noticed Morgan and the vehicle. Morgan reportedly saw the officer pulling into the parking lot at the same time the officer saw him. The man then jumped into the vehicle and took off.

Later, after the vehicle was discovered abandoned, detectives were called into the case and began pulling surveillance video from the neighboring properties. It was found that surveillance systems at the collision center had been stolen during the burglary, but cameras at the County Complex, bank video, and even school surveillance from Smithville Elementary School was used to crack the case.

“We looked through several hours of video and finally came up with a suspect,” Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins explained. “After that, the arrest was made yesterday (October 4) by Detective Cornelius.”

The burglary not only affected the business, but also the owner of the Kia that was stolen as well as the mechanics at the location who own their own tools. Police believe they have recovered all of the tools taken, as well as the vehicle, though the surveillance equipment stolen from the business has yet to be found. There was minimal damage to the building.

Once Morgan was taken into custody and confronted with the evidence, he led police to the spot where he had stashed the stolen tools, not far from where the car was recovered.

“I want to commend all officers involved for a job well done,” Chief Collins said.

“If the sergeant had not been doing extra patrols, we may have got him eventually, but it would have been a much harder process,” Detective Cornelius added.

Morgan is under a $56,000 bond and is due in court on October 21.