Thread: Small town WI p.d. breaks up huge burglary ring

Hayward is a small town in NW Wisconsin of about 2,500 people and has 7 members on their p.d.

Hayward investigators uncover burglary ring
Maria Lockwood
The Daily Telegram
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 24th, 2006 04:37:49 PM


After months of investigative work, members of the Hayward Police Department will send 17 suspected members of a burglary ring accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of property through the court system.
“With the sheer volume of paperwork, it will take the next couple months” to get charges to the Sawyer County District Attorney’s Office, said Det. Mark Kelsey of the Hayward Police Department.
A staggering 738 charges — 200 felonies and 538 misdemeanors — are being considered. They include numerous counts of burglary, armed burglary, felon in possession of firearms, felony theft, auto theft, criminal damage to property, receiving stolen property and possession of burglary tools.
Along with the property loss, it is estimated that the defendants caused tens of thousands of dollars worth of property damage and were responsible for burglaries as far away as Green Bay.
“It’s the case of a lifetime,” said Kelsey, a 27-year veteran of the Hayward Police Department. “The whole department helped contribute to this success.”
The case started in July of 2004 when the police department, which has seven members, developed information regarding a burglary ring that was operating in the city of Hayward, Sawyer County and surrounding counties. This ring had been operating in the area since 2001, according to a Hayward Police Department statement. As a result of the ensuing investigation, 25 suspects were identified and dozens of burglaries solved.
“We were able to obtain confessions to every single one of these crimes,” Kelsey said.
Investigators also discovered that some of the defendants were on probation for burglary while committing some of the new crimes.
The burglary ring worked in tag-team fashion, Kelsey said.
“They would work in small groups together,” he said. Sometimes defendants one, two and three would work together; other times defendants two, six and eight. He said as many as six defendants took part in one burglary.
The ring targeted cash, jewelry, firearms, ATVs and automobiles during the burglaries, according to the Hayward Police Department.
“They only tried to get rid of stuff not easily identifiable,” Kelsey said. ATVs, for example, would often be taken, used in other burglaries, then ridden and trashed so they could not be linked back to the suspects.
The defendants primarily targeted businesses, but they would target private residences when they knew the homes contained items of interest, according to a Hayward Police Department statement.
For Kelsey, the past few months have seemed like a scene from the Bill Murray comedy “Groundhog Day.”
“It’s kind of like waking up to the same case over and over again,” the detective said.
As a result of the investigation, the Hayward Police Department also cleared several home invasions near Green Bay.
“This is a credit to the whole department,” Kelsey said. “Everyone pitched in.”
The department is working with various agencies to clear other burglaries. The investigation is continuing, and more charges are expected to be filed with the Sawyer County District Attorney’s office.

If there was ever an example of doing a lot with a little, this is it!

kudos!!! Great job!

Made news in the Cities here. Great job!

K9