Some headway has been made in a series of thefts in the Alpine area. This week Alpine Police Chief James Phillips announced the arrest of a suspect. The investigation continues and names of suspects have not been released.  “Over the past four weeks the Town of Alpine has been hit by several commercial burglaries,” said Phillips. “Several thousand dollars in damages were done to the targeted businesses and an undisclosed amount of cash and goods was stolen by the thieves.”  According to Phillips, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and the Alpine Police Department were aided in their efforts to solve the cases by members of the public.  “Concerned members of the public have been very generous with information regarding these crimes,” he said. “Some of that information helped identify some possible suspects. By the end of last week the Alpine Police Department had obtained enough probably cause to issue an affidavit for an arrest warrant on one of the suspects.”
However, according to information provided by law enforcement, before the arrest could be made the suspect was caught in the act.

“Before the warrant could be issued and the suspect arrested, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office arrested the suspect in the commission of some other burglaries in the county,” said Phillips. “It should be noted that catching burglars in the act is quite rare, and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office is to be commended for their excellent work.”

According to Phillips, this recent incident shows the importance of local law enforcement agencies working together.

“The Alpine Police Department maintains a positive professional relationship with all of the law enforcement agencies in the county and the region,” he said. “Concerned about the possibility of these burglaries spreading outside the town, the Alpine Police Department and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office had been in close communication regarding the recent wave of burglaries.”

According to Phillips, the investigation into the burglaries is ongoing. Anyone with information regarding these cases is asked to contact the Alpine Police Department at 654-7455 or alpinepd@silverstar.com, or call the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office at 885-5231.