Reward offered for arrest of burglars

By Jessica Stith
of The Daily Times Staff

An Alcoa business that has been burglarized multiple times in the past year is offering a reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction of suspects in the burglaries.

Alcoa Police Department Detective Kris Sanders said management at Palm Harbor Homes, 4401 Singleton Station Road, Louisville, are offering a “$5,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of a suspect or suspects involved in the various burglaries at the business.”

Sanders said the business has reported 12 burglaries since July, 2007, and there were other burglaries at the business that have gone unreported since that time.
The burglaries are occurring in the early morning hours at the business and are being discovered by employees when they arrive at the business, which opens at 9 a.m.

Palm Harbor Homes builds, sells, finances and insures manufactured and modular homes. Sanders said the burglars are mostly removing furnishings from display homes at the business. Losses reported to authorities totaled more than $15,000.

The most recent burglary was on Tuesday, according to an Alcoa police report. Officers reported that an employee at the business said he found items taken from three different manufactured homes on the business lot.

The business reported that bedding, a remote sensor, coffee table, end tables and lamps were stolen from the display homes. The thieves are also accused of damaging a screen door. Loss and damage was estimated at $600.

Last week, the business reported theft of carpet and padding worth $350 from a manufactured home on the lot. A representative of the business said he had set an alarm when he left the business on the previous night, but said it was “deactivated sometime during the night.”

Some of the display homes have practically been stripped bare by the burglars. Other items stolen over the last year include furniture, lights, cabinets, mirrors, stoves, John Deere Gator, golf cart charger, door jams, baseboards, trim, copper wire, doors, microwaves, tools, vacuums and dishes.

Sanders said other Alcoa businesses have been burglarized several times in the last year and that all businesses should be proactive in their security measures to keep their assets safe.

“Install security systems, inventory your property and record serial and VIN numbers on merchandise that the public has easy access to,” Sander said.
Sanders said it is also important to “report any suspicious activity to law enforcement immediately.”

Anyone who has information on the burglaries at Palm Harbor Homes should call Sanders at 380-4968, e-mail him at ksanders@cityofalcoa-tn.gov, or call the Alcoa Police Department 24-hour crime hot line at 380-4715.