Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Four to be charged in string of area burglaries

Four people involved in a rash of Nevada County burglaries were caught when they attempted to take a battery from a van at Nevada School.

Richard Lewis, 19, 1942 Hempstead 7, Hope, and Shana Haltom, 22, 140 Hempstead 238, Hope, have been arrested along with a juvenile. A fourth person has been identified as a suspect, but has not yet been arrested.

According to Nevada County Sheriffs Office Chief Deputy Wayne Kisselburg, a school employee was at the school building on the night of July 30 when the four were breaking into the employees van. The four had reportedly removed the battery and the keys from the van when the employee confronted them. They reportedly dropped the battery and ran to their own vehicle, but the employee recorded the cars license plate and reported the incident to authorities, Kisselburg said. Authorities then tracked the ownership of the vehicle to Haltoms parents and questioned Haltom about the incident. Haltom reportedly confessed to the crime.

That same night, someone broke a window at T.J.s Store, located a short distance from the school. The would-be thieves did not gain access but the window was valued at $200.

Kisselburg said that both Haltom and Lewis confessed to their involvement in both crimes and that police are still investigating the possibility of tying them to additional burglaries in the area.