Misplaced phone leads to burglary arrests

MT. PLEASANT — A phone left behind in a burglarized car, camera footage, information from the public and an executed search warrant lead Mt. Pleasant Police Department to arresting two individuals in connection to multiple burglaries which occurred Wednesday night.

According to a news release from the police department, they began receiving reports of missing items, including multiple firearms, at approximately 6 a.m. Thursday.

These reports were only the beginning of an investigation which resulted in the arrest of Daigen Ross, 22 of Mt. Pleasant, and a 17-year-old female.

“During the course of the investigation, officers collected a cellphone that had been left inside of a vehicle that had been burglarized,” Mt. Pleasant Police Officer Chantz Vargus wrote in an affidavit filed with the courts.

According to Police Chief Murray’s criminal complaints filed with the courts, Ross broke into two vehicles at one victim’s residence in Mt. Pleasant and left his phone behind in one of the vehicles.

“The defendant and his girlfriend gave two different stories as to where the phone was that belonged to him,” Murray wrote.

After finding the phone and identifying the owner, officers executed a search warrant for Ross’s address and located several firearms. Two of the located firearms were found in a fresh Kitty Litter box, and one of them was identified as a LLAMA .45 caliber pistol.

Through the execution of the warrant, Murray states officers found a number of items including exact cash amounts, muddy boots, and the stolen firearms.

At approximately 8:30 p.m. Thursday Vargus states that he responded to a report of a burglary of a motor vehicle.

“Upon investigation, it was found that a firearm had been stolen from the center console of the victim’s vehicle,” Vargus’s affidavit states. “Upon further investigation, it was determined that the stolen firearm was a LLAMA .45 caliber pistol.”

In addition to the victim identifying the LLAMA .45 found during the search warrant, this victim also provided timestamped security camera footage from his residence that showed “a slender built subject wearing a hooded sweatshirt or coat walking to the direction of the driveway where the vehicle was located.”

“The suspect in this security camera footage resembles the suspect caught on video in other burglaries that also occurred on the previous night,” Vargus wrote.

Officer Kyle Vaughn also took a statement from a victim that claimed their Smith & Wesson M & 9 Shield was stolen overnight Oct. 18 between 3:30 p.m. and 5:20 a.m.

“Upon further investigation it was found that the victim’s stolen firearm was located during a search warrant that was executed at the defendant's above listed address,” Vaughn wrote in his affidavit filed with Henry County Courts. “Upon further review it was found that the defendant has prior convictions for burglary in the 3rd degree — motor vehicle.”

In Murray’s account of events, not all burglaries took place in unoccupied vehicles. He states in a criminal complaint that one of the burglaries occurred at a victim’s home in their attached garage while they were sleeping in the house.

According to court records, Ross currently faces two counts of second-degree burglary and five counts of third-degree burglary.

The court set Ross’s bail at $35,000 cash bond and set his preliminary hearing for Oct. 30 at 9 a.m.

“The juvenile female was later released to a family member and is being charged with Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Equipment, Interference with Official Acts, and Criminal Mischief,” Mt. Pleasant Police Department stated in a news release.

According to the news release, the police department expects more charges to follow.

In consideration of multiple firearms being taken in this instance of burglary, Mt. Pleasant Police Department not only encourages the public to lock their doors to their homes and cars, but especially to lock these doors if they have firearms.

If anyone has additional information, the police department urges that they reach out, and when anyone sees suspicious activity, Mt. Pleasant Police Department encourages them to report it to (319) 385-1450

Additionally, authorities state that they have two “very specific” items that were found in the process, and they encourage anyone missing something to call the police department to identify the them.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com