Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008

Four caught after mini storage burglary in Meriden

by Kenneth Lassiter

A law enforcement pursuit in the southwestern portion of the county the morning of Jan. 30 resulted in the arrest of four Topekans after the burglary of two units at K-4 Mini Storage in Meriden.

Undersheriff Jeff Herrig said the 911 dispatch center received an alarm call at the site at about 3:45 a.m. and a nearby sheriff’s officer was able to arrive at the scene within a couple minutes. The officer, Cpl. Kevin Gibson, arrived to find the suspects getting into a van and leaving the premises. After a short pursuit, the van left the road on a curve at 46th and Butler south of Meriden and struck some trees. The four suspects fled on foot and the chase continued.

Gibson had a K-9 officer with him and was able to track down one suspect – Aaron Larson, 24 – hiding beneath a swimming pool cover at a nearby residence. Herrig said two other suspects – Preston Price, 26, and Danielle Wahwassuck, 20 – were seen walking along the road by a tow truck driver who was en route to get the wrecked van. Those suspects were rounded up by authorities.

The fourth suspect wasn’t as easy to catch. Herrig said Shawnee County Sheriff’s Department officials, Kansas Highway Patrol officials as well as a Topeka Police helicopter and KHP helicopter were used in the search, which was called off after daybreak. Two county officers searching for the fourth suspect dropped through ice while trying to cross a creek and got wet but were uninjured. The suspect – Robert Hill, 31 – was arrested at his Topeka residence.

Herrig said formal charges are pending but preliminary indications were that four counts of burglary, four counts of criminal damage and two counts of theft would be charged. He said the 1990 Dodge minivan used in the alleged theft was registered to Wahwassuck.

Herrig said the sheriff’s department was fortunate to be able to have an officer on the scene quickly.

“Normally it’s a hit-and-miss thing – it’s not always as convenient as that,” he said. “It really worked out just right.”