Lowndes County authorities are making headway in the investigation of recent burglaries.
Chief Deputy Greg Wright said the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office has a warrant for a second suspect in connection with a New Hope burglary after arresting a Starkville woman earlier this week. Authorities are looking for Billy Ross Petty Jr., 35, of 1124 Sixth Ave. N. in Columbus, and have a warrant for his arrest on the felony charge of receiving stolen property. The warrant stems from a mid-December incident that occurred at Casey Lane in New Hope.
Crystal Denise Brown, 23, of 1306 Blackjack Road in Starkville, was arrested Tuesday evening at a Hardee’s in Starkville. Brown was charged with receiving stolen property in connection with that incident. She was released on a $5,000 bond.
“(Petty) has not been arrested; we have been looking for him. We believe that (Petty and Brown) are connected,” Wright said.
Petty is about 6 feet, 1 inch tall and weighs approximately 280 pounds. Anyone with information regarding Petty’s whereabouts is asked to call the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office at 662-328-6788. He had not been apprehended as of press time.
Lowndes County, Columbus and nearby law enforcement agencies from West Alabama met Thursday afternoon regarding the recent outbreak of burglaries.
“We met and discussed some things. It was a very constructive meeting,” Wright said. “I won’t say exactly what we have planned, but we will be working more closely with one another.”
The meeting was in response to the recent increase in burglaries throughout Lowndes County and other nearby counties, he said.
“Lowndes County is not alone in this,” Wright said, noting 49 burglaries occurred in the sheriff’s office jurisdiction from Dec. 1 to Jan. 1. North Columbus, Caledonia and New Hope areas are being hit the worst.
“I also know that in eastern Alabama and the northern (Mississippi) counties above us have been hit hard as well,” he said. “And burglaries usually do pick up during the holiday season, but it has been kind of heavy in this area this past year.”
Wright said of the 49 burglaries, “quite a few of them” have occurred in subdivisions. “Neighbors need to be watching out for one another. Period,” he said. “It’s not a bad thing to be getting to know your neighbor and what car they drive and so on. I do it in my neighborhood.”
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