E-mail
PrintCOLUMBIA — Two men were arrested Monday night after a number of burglaries at The Links at Columbia apartment complex on Clark Lane.
The men, Robert A. Hill, 32, and Johnnie L. Spain, 27, were arrested on suspicion of burglary. As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, Hill and Spain were being held at the Columbia Police Department for questioning, Sgt. Ken Hammond said. They had not been formally charged at that time.
Police detained the men after a foot chase at about 8:45 p.m in northeast Columbia. They were found with a master key for the apartment complex and were in possession of stolen property, Hammond said.
The police are investigating multiple burglaries at The Links. Five burglaries were reported on Nov. 11, and an unknown number occurred Monday night, Hammond said. The burglaries were all reported with no forced entry, Hammond said. Major Crimes has taken over the investigation, which is still ongoing.
No one at The Links at Columbia would comment. Scott Rogerson, attorney for the complex's Arkansas-based owner, Lindsey Management, said The Links' management was "not aware the master key was missing prior to the burglary. All keys were accounted for.”
Rogerson said the two men were not tenants or employees of the apartment complex. Rogerson did not know how the suspects obtained the key.
After the five burglaries on Nov. 11, the complex changed the locks of the five burglarized apartments, he said.
Despite the finding no signs of forced entry in the five burglaries, The Links' management did not suspect that a master key was missing, Rogerson said.
The Links sent out notified tenants on Tuesday morning that their locks were to be changed starting Wednesday morning, Rogerson said.
Comments