The Grand Jury Monday indicted two brothers on several burglary and theft charges stemming from break-ins which occurred late last summer in DeKalb County.
44 year old Martin Riley and 50 year old Timothy Riley are co-indicted on two charges of aggravated burglary, one count of theft over $1,000, one count of theft under $500, and vandalism under $500.
Meanwhile Martin Riley is indicted on two charges of aggravated burglary, three counts of theft over $1,000, and one count of theft over $500.
The indictments against the two brothers together allege that:
Martin and Timothy Riley, on or about September 4th, 2009, entered the home of John Trobaugh and stole a stove, refrigerator, microwave, television, radio, and a telescope over the value of $1,000.
Martin and Timothy Riley, on or about August 20th, 2009, entered the home of Joyce Murphy, stole a leaf blower under the value of $500, and damaged a metal door .
The indictments against Martin Riley allege that:
Martin Riley, on or about September 1st, 2009, entered the home of Rand Fredrickson and stole a stove, refrigerator, microwave, television, radio, and telescope, over the value of $1,000
Martin Riley, on or about September 1st, 2009, entered the home of Katy Elean and removed a stainless freezer, stainless refrigerator, a gas range, television, microwave, and a wicker night stand, over the value of $1,000.
Martin Riley, on or about September 9th, 2009, stole a lawn mower, a six foot trailer, a generator over the value of $1,000, and a Troy Built riding lawn mower over the value of $500 belonging to Kelly Hollingsworth
Last September, Sheriff Patrick Ray said the Riley brothers were believed to have been responsible for several burglaries and thefts in DeKalb and other counties.
According to Sheriff Ray, the Riley brothers didn’t just allegedly steal small things, they also allegedly took large expensive household appliances. “We’ve recovered all kinds of stainless steel refrigerators, stainless steel stoves, stainless steel freezers, radios, cd players, microwaves, toaster ovens, anything they could go into a house and get.”
Sheriff Ray says the Riley’s favorite targets were lake homes although they allegedly burglarized other residences as well “They would make entry into the houses, mostly lake homes, where people are not there everyday, push all these appliances up next to the door or on the front porch, and then they would go, get a vehicle, come back and load it all up, and sell it right then.”
A couple of the break-ins, for which the Rileys are believed to have been responsible, were on Shady Drive and Ponder Road. “On September 9th, detectives investigated a break-in at a residence on Shady Drive where someone had stolen a lawn mower, a six foot trailer, and a generator. Another was on Ponder Road where they had broken into a cabin and stolen refrigerators and other appliances.”
Sheriff Ray says the Rileys also allegedly burglarized homes in the City of Smithville. “There have also been some cases in the City of Smithville with which we were able to help the Smithville Police Department. They (Rileys) took some of the same things they were taking out in the county such as lawn mowers. In one case they took lots of health and beauty aids that an individual had bought by the boxes, things like shampoo and toothpaste, and they (Rileys) sold that to an individual.”
The investigation also implicated the Rileys in a scheme to steal a bobcat. “There was a bobcat that was rented in Warren County. It was delivered here in the City of Smithville. These two individuals were involved with that. Martin Riley went up there (McMinnville) and gave the people at the rental center some fake information and when they brought the bobcat down here he and his brother Tim loaded the bobcat on a trailer and sold it to a man in Indiana.”
After stealing the goods, Sheriff Ray says the Rileys then tried to sell them as quickly as possible. “We believe they went around the county, asking people if they wanted to buy a lawnmower or refrigerator or whatever, but the people who bought the items didn’t realize they were stolen. At one of the places where they sold some of the items, the guy (buyer) had a vehicle tag that was laying over on the ground, which was still in date. They (Rileys) took the tag, stole it from him, and put it on their vehicle.”
According to Sheriff Ray the Rileys didn’t just peddle the stolen goods locally. ” In one case, they took a lawnmower from one of the break-ins and sold it to a guy on the street in Nashville.”
He says in some cases, the Riley’s were so anxious to make a sale that it aroused the suspicion of the buyers. ” At two places in the county where they had made a sale, the people noticed something strange about the refrigerators because they were still cold. Some of them actually had ice still in the ice box.”
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