Dakota Valkyrie
February 16th, 2009, 09:19 PM
http://i41.tinypic.com/qq7gk0.jpgFootprints in the snow from car break-in to car break-in helped the Alden police chief track down his suspects and make arrests.
Three young adults from Alden are expected to appear in Freeborn County District Court on a combined total of more than 90 charges related to alleged car break-ins at the end of January.
Jeremy Brian Rietsema, 21, Katharine Rose Aldrich, 20, and Brittny Michelle Billings, 18, each face seven counts of third-degree burglary, seven counts of aiding and abetting third-degree burglary, seven counts of misdemeanor theft, seven counts of misdemeanor aiding and abetting theft, and three counts of motor vehicle tampering.
On Jan. 31 Alden Police Chief Chris Harpham responded to a call for assistance from the victim of an alleged car theft, who reported he was missing a new pair of leather gloves he had purchased the day before.
Harpham saw three distinct sets of footprints around the vehicle and followed them to another vehicle two houses down. The police chief talked to the owner of the second vehicle, who discovered a bottle of perfume had been taken.
Harpham followed the footprints from automobile to automobile from 7:45 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. [5 hours!] that day. Along the trail of footprints, there were 17 vehicles that appeared to have been broken into, some of which were parked outside of residences and some of which were parked in garages.
Other items reported missing from the autos included cigarettes, coins, CDs, DVDs and jewelry, according to documents.
After talking to the young adults and finding shoes that matched the prints, authorities arrested the three people, after which they were taken to the Freeborn County jail.
In the jail, Harpham interviewed Reitsema, Billings and Aldrich separately, and all three “admitted to entering multiple cars ... and removing items as they walked together from car to car,” court documents state.
Photos were taken of the footprints and the soles of each pair of shoes.
The young adults face maximum penalties of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine for felony charges and 90 days imprisonment and a $1,000 fine for misdemeanor charges.http://www.albertleatribune.com/news/2009/feb/16/did-footprints-foil-burglary-suspects/
Jeremy Rietsema: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=174072146
Brittny Billings: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=75846235
Three young adults from Alden are expected to appear in Freeborn County District Court on a combined total of more than 90 charges related to alleged car break-ins at the end of January.
Jeremy Brian Rietsema, 21, Katharine Rose Aldrich, 20, and Brittny Michelle Billings, 18, each face seven counts of third-degree burglary, seven counts of aiding and abetting third-degree burglary, seven counts of misdemeanor theft, seven counts of misdemeanor aiding and abetting theft, and three counts of motor vehicle tampering.
On Jan. 31 Alden Police Chief Chris Harpham responded to a call for assistance from the victim of an alleged car theft, who reported he was missing a new pair of leather gloves he had purchased the day before.
Harpham saw three distinct sets of footprints around the vehicle and followed them to another vehicle two houses down. The police chief talked to the owner of the second vehicle, who discovered a bottle of perfume had been taken.
Harpham followed the footprints from automobile to automobile from 7:45 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. [5 hours!] that day. Along the trail of footprints, there were 17 vehicles that appeared to have been broken into, some of which were parked outside of residences and some of which were parked in garages.
Other items reported missing from the autos included cigarettes, coins, CDs, DVDs and jewelry, according to documents.
After talking to the young adults and finding shoes that matched the prints, authorities arrested the three people, after which they were taken to the Freeborn County jail.
In the jail, Harpham interviewed Reitsema, Billings and Aldrich separately, and all three “admitted to entering multiple cars ... and removing items as they walked together from car to car,” court documents state.
Photos were taken of the footprints and the soles of each pair of shoes.
The young adults face maximum penalties of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine for felony charges and 90 days imprisonment and a $1,000 fine for misdemeanor charges.http://www.albertleatribune.com/news/2009/feb/16/did-footprints-foil-burglary-suspects/
Jeremy Rietsema: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=174072146
Brittny Billings: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=75846235