By Lori Ehde
Area law enforcement agencies are getting a handle on a two-month spree of local thefts and burglaries involving Sioux Falls and Rock County suspects.
Last week a stereo stolen in Garretson, S.D., turned up in Rock County and led officers to a ring of Sioux Falls juveniles with extensive criminal records.
Those four boys, ages 14 to 17, admitted to committing a long list of Rock County crimes, and they're likely responsible for up to 80 additional reported crimes in South Dakota and Nebraska.
"I don't think these boys have any idea how many things they stole or even where they burglarized," said Rock County Investigator Clyde Menning.
"They'd be driving down the road pitching stuff out the window. They'd have no idea where they even were and had no destination in mind. They were just on a crime spree."
As these boys were questioned, deputies learned the Sioux Falls group had help from local juveniles, who are also taking credit for several of their own illegal acts.
As of Wednesday, Menning said eight Rock County males, mostly from Luverne, are facing charges. Six are juveniles as young as 15, and two are legal adults, ages 18 and older.
In all, law enforcement has wrapped up investigations of 10 Rock County crimes committed in the past 30 days, but Menning said that tally could change.
"We seem to take care of a couple of burglaries, but then as we ask questions, the list keeps growing," he said. "It's a nightmare."
The Sioux Falls boys will be charged in connection with the following Rock County incidents:
An Aug. 1 burglary at the Rock Veterinary Clinic.
An Aug. 19 theft of Gordon Swenson's cell phone from his car parked at Casey's on South Highway 75.
An Aug. 19 theft of Evie VandenBerg's cell phone and its 12-volt adapter from her vehicle, which was parked in the garage.
An Aug. 19 burglary at Palace Video involving stolen cash and five CDs.
An Aug. 26 burglary at the laundromat involving theft of calling cards from a machine.
An Aug. 28 theft of a purse and its contents from Daniel Spreiter's van in Luverne.
An Aug. 30 theft of cash and a damaged pop machine.
The eight Rock County suspects have had varying degrees of involvement with these cases as well.
"For example, two of our young individuals may have been involved with the vet clinic break-in and the Palace Video case," Menning said.
The Sioux Falls juveniles face charges in South Dakota, and the Rock County young people will be charged in Rock County District Court.
The Rock County suspects are also implicated with several crimes reported in the past week, apparently with no involvement by the Sioux Falls youths.
Since Friday, burglaries were reported by the pawn shop and Blue Mound Inn, in addition to three residential burglaries in Luverne and rural Beaver Creek.
Menning said he's seeing increasing Sioux Falls influence in recent years. "Our communities are growing closer and closer," he said. "We'd like to say Sioux Falls is a long ways away, but we are tied closer to Sioux Falls than to any other nearby community. How they evolve we evolve."
While local deputies are still working to solve many other unsolved thefts, burglaries and vandalism, Menning said it helps to have these cleared.
"We can eliminate all of these other cases that obviously aren't connected," Menning said.
Joint law is beneficial
Rock County deputies worked jointly on the investigation with the Sioux Falls Police Department detective division and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation.
"Our officers put in a lot of extra patrol time and talked to a lot of individuals compiling information on these cases," Rock County Sheriff Ron McClure said. "I want to commend these guys for their hard work."
He added that joint law enforcement, which combined the Rock County Sheriff's Department and the Luverne Police Department in January 1998, was particularly helpful for cases such as these.
"Eight to nine officers were all working together for the whole county and city on the same case," he said. "And having one investigator to compile all their information was very beneficial."
Menning, one of the early opponents of combining police and deputies, agreed the joint law system is working well. "It eliminates that duplication of the right hand and the left hand trying to do the same thing," he said.
The Sheriff's Department still encourages anyone with information on unsolved local cases to call 283-5000 or any of the individual sheriff's deputies directly.