The Walker County Sheriff’s Office recently concluded an investigation of a group of 10 robberies in the Riverside area.

While the bulk of the robberies were connected to a single individual, two of the robberies were finally attributed to a second party following a break in the case on Dec. 4.

According to Walker County Sheriff’s Department Detective Ryan Ringo, the robberies occurred between Oct. 30 and Nov. 7, and a variety of stolen items ranging from house goods, power tools and fine jewelry were stolen.

To date, approximately $2,600 worth of stolen property has been returned to owners in the Riverside area, but investigations are ongoing into the whereabouts of additional property.



Ring of theft

From Oct. 30 through Nov. 7, Ringo said approximately eight crimes in the Riverside area ranging from burglary of a habitation to criminal mischief and criminal trespass were reported to the Walker County Sheriff’s Office.

Property taken during these crimes ranged from several all-terrain vehicles to home goods and power tools, Ringo said.

“Our suspicions were that a local Riverside man — identified as David Leroy Williams — was possibly responsible for the crimes,” he said. “On Nov. 4, Lt. Charlie Perkins, Deputy Matt Thrailkill and myself were conducting a neighborhood canvass of the Riverside area where the crimes were occurring when Thrailkill spotted Williams walking with several large items in his hands.

“After realizing he had been spotted, Williams attempted to drop and hide the items and leave the area, but we were able to safely make contact with him and begin a roadside investigation into what he was doing.”

In the course of initial investigations, Williams admitted the property in his possession, which included a Dewalt saw and an Echo leaf blower, had come from one of the residences which had been burglarized approximately three times.

Williams was placed into custody and transported to the Walker County Sheriff’s Office for further questioning.

“Over the next few days, we linked Williams to various crime scenes in the Riverside area through physical evidence,” Ringo said. “Williams later confessed to committing a burglary off of FM 980 East, three burglaries off of FM 405 and two different attempted burglaries off of Hill Street in Riverside.

“In all, approximately seven to eight cases were cleared, and approximately $1,000 worth of property was recovered.”

Ringo said the possibility of additional suspects in the cases connected to Williams has not been ruled out.

“Although an arrest has been made, we have not ruled out the possibility of other suspects, and further investigation is ongoing in the whereabouts of the remaining stolen property,” Ringo said.



Additional robberies

During the same time frame of Oct. 30 through Nov. 7, two other robberies were reported on the west side of state Highway 19 at two residences.

Initial investigations indicated that numerous items of jewelry had been taken from the residences.

“Initially, we thought Williams could have committed these burglaries, but although he was questioned in reference to the offenses, he denied any involvement,” Ringo said. “On Dec. 4, I located property at a local pawn shop that one of the complainants in the burglary had reported stolen.

“This raised my suspicion that several other items of jewelry had also been pawned, so I photographed the jewelry and showed the photos to the complainant of the second burglary.”

The complainant of the second burglary identified the jewelry as her own, and continued investigations revealed that the first complainant had actually made a false report in reference to her burglary and had committed the second burglary.

“Upon further investigation, the first subject was questioned and later confessed to burglarizing her neighbor’s residence and had made a false report in reference to her burglary,” Ringo said. “The first subject was charged with burglary of a habitation, a second degree felony offense.

“Later, the stolen property, valued at approximately $1,600, was returned to the rightful owner.”