Published: July 24, 2008 04:19 pm            

Commerce Police report busting crime ring

The Commerce Police Department investigated a series of criminal activities and swiftly arrested the suspects involved and recovered stolen property.

On the morning of July 5th, officers began taking a rash of burglaries of motor vehicles in the south east portion of the city. A total of 12 unlocked vehicles were reported burglarized. A total of $4,299 dollars in property and cash had been removed from the vehicles. On July 7th, investigators responded to information on the location of one of the stolen items and subsequent interviews led to the recovery of $1,735 of the stolen

property. On July 11th, investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Brandon Allen Powell, 21, of Commerce for the burglaries and Powell was arrested that evening after turning himself in to the Commerce Police Department. An additional warrant was issued for Powell’s arrest for Burglary of a Building that was committed the same morning and area of the car burglaries. Powell was arrested on July 18th on the Burglary of a Building warrant on July 18th after turning himself in on that warrant as well. Bond on the vehicle burglaries was set at $50, 000 and a $20,000 bond was set for the burglary of a building.

In the afternoon of July 17, Officers from the Commerce police Department responded to a female attempting to pass a forged check at a local business. While officers were responding, the suspect left and a vehicle description was given to the officers. Sgt. G. McCull located and stopped the vehicle, occupied by 1 male and 3 females on Maple St. near Zurn. While talking to the male driver, Sgt. McCull determined the driver was

giving him false names and personal information. Det. Sgt. Vaughan responded to the location and assisted Sgt. McCull with interviewing the occupants of the vehicle. The interviews revealed that the occupants were involved in a check cashing operation and were taken to the Commerce Police Department for further Questioning. The driver was arrested for no driver’s license, no insurance. After interviews of the 3 females, the Driver was identified as Arthur Moore, 33, of Dallas. Moore had an outstanding probation Violation warrant out of Dallas County and was charged with failure to identify, Fugitive from Justice. Moore also was charged with forgery and Engaging in Organized Crime for being involved in the check cashing scheme. Two of the 3 female occupants, Monique Roland, 23 and Chassidy Burrell, 23 were arrested for forgery and Engaging in Organized Crime. The third occupant admitted to passing a forged check in Sulphur Springs earlier in the day. She was released after Investigators with the Sulphur Springs Police Department were notified. Check writing material, fake checks, and other evidence of forging checks were seized from the vehicle and the suspect’s. Authorities from Dallas contacted investigators from the Commerce Police Department, and it was determined that Moore is being investigated on a forged check writing spree from the Dallas area to Sulphur Springs.

On July 21st at approximately 5:35 AM, officers were dispatched to West Neal and Hunt street in reference to a motor vehicle burglary in progress. While the officers were responding, Texas A & M officers spotted 2 subjects that matched the suspect’s descriptions. One of the suspects fled to the MSC building on the college campus and were lost. The second suspect, a 17 year old male was detained for Commerce PD officers. A short time later, the officer spotted one of the suspects in the MSC building and placed the 17 year old male in custody for evading arrest and/or detention.

After interviewing the detained suspect, a third suspect was named and officers went to his Washington Street address where he was found hiding in a closet. While being detained outside, the 17 year old male began using foul language and was arrested for disorderly conduct. Further interviews led officers to recover most of the stolen items.

        

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