The Sheriff issued this statement on November 6 after Edwards and McWilliams were arrested:
Wednesday morning before the Sheriff's Office opened, The
United Marshal's Service was delivering Johnny Allen FRANCIS to the Rankin
County Adult Detention Center for one count of Commercial Burglary, one count
of Residential Burglary, one count of Weapons Trafficking and one count of
Conspiracy to commit Residential Burglary.
Rankin County Investigators issued a warrant for FRANCIS
after interviewing EDWARDS and MCWILLIAMS, who were arrested the previous
Sunday while casing the Azalea Trails neighborhood.
 |
| Edwards |
EDWARDS and MCWILLIAMS were in possession of a stolen
handgun from an August burglary at the time of their arrest. The two confessed to their involvement in the
daytime burglary and implicated FRANCIS as a co-conspirator.
Investigators petitioned the court for arrest warrants for
FRANCIS. Once the warrants were
obtained, they solicited the assistance of the US Marshal's Service and in less
then 48 hours, FRANCIS was reunited with his fellow thieves.
The investigation showed after the trio committed the
residential burglary they returned to Hinds County. FRANCIS and EDWARDS returned to the area and
burglarized Fannin Missionary Baptist Church.
In that church burglary, the two stole various musical instruments and
sound equipment.
Based on comments made by the young criminals, they were
driving around the North shore of the Reservoir looking for an easy target so
they could 'hit a lick." The victim
that day was strictly a random pick.
Their MO (modus operandi) was to select a target, based on
appearance, and attempt to make contact with the homeowner. If the homeowner were home, they planned to
act as if they were soliciting yard work.
If they felt the owner was not home, they would then attempt to make
entry.
When EDWARDS and MCWILLIAMS were questioned as to why they
choose to come to this area of the county versus committing the burglaries in
their own county, they stated residents in their county lock their homes and
vehicles.
EDWARDS and MCWILLIAMS admitted the night they were
arrested, they were in the area looking for a residence to burglarize and had
attempted to burglarize several vehicles.
Luckily this time, they were unable to find any unlocked vehicles and
the ones that were unlocked had no valuables inside.
 |
| McWilliams |
It is rare for residential burglaries to occur in the late
night or early morning hours in Rankin County.
This is mainly due to the burglars not wanting to be confronted by the
homeowners who very well may be prepared to protect their property by any means
necessary. They are much more
comfortable attempting the residential burglaries during daylight hours while
they hope the homeowners have left to work their honest jobs.
Vehicle burglaries are more common at night when the
vehicles are home and the burglars have the cover of darkness to operate. They still want to avoid confrontation and
most will avoid breaking windows for fear of being heard.
Locking your vehicle and installing motion sensor activated
lights are two things you can do that will help prevent you from being an easy
target.
Rankin County Court Judge Kent McDaniel denied bond for
EDWARDS and MCWILLIAMS on Tuesday. They
are scheduled for their preliminary hearing on November 14. FRANCIS had his initial appearance today and
was also denied bond.
DA Guest has been kept up-to-date on the developments of
these three criminals and is anxiously awaiting the opportunity to give them
their day in court.
Wednesday morning before the Sheriff's Office opened, The
United Marshal's Service was delivering Johnny Allen FRANCIS to the Rankin
County Adult Detention Center for one count of Commercial Burglary, one count
of Residential Burglary, one count of Weapons Trafficking and one count of
Conspiracy to commit Residential Burglary.
Rankin County Investigators issued a warrant for FRANCIS
after interviewing EDWARDS and MCWILLIAMS, who were arrested the previous
Sunday while casing the Azalea Trails neighborhood.
EDWARDS and MCWILLIAMS were in possession of a stolen
handgun from an August burglary at the time of their arrest. The two confessed to their involvement in the
daytime burglary and implicated FRANCIS as a co-conspirator.
Investigators petitioned the court for arrest warrants for
FRANCIS. Once the warrants were
obtained, they solicited the assistance of the US Marshal's Service and in less
then 48 hours, FRANCIS was reunited with his fellow thieves.
The investigation showed after the trio committed the
residential burglary they returned to Hinds County. FRANCIS and EDWARDS returned to the area and
burglarized Fannin Missionary Baptist Church.
In that church burglary, the two stole various musical instruments and
sound equipment.
Based on comments made by the young criminals, they were
driving around the North shore of the Reservoir looking for an easy target so
they could 'hit a lick." The victim
that day was strictly a random pick.
Their MO (modus operandi) was to select a target, based on
appearance, and attempt to make contact with the homeowner. If the homeowner were home, they planned to
act as if they were soliciting yard work.
If they felt the owner was not home, they would then attempt to make
entry.
When EDWARDS and MCWILLIAMS were questioned as to why they
choose to come to this area of the county versus committing the burglaries in
their own county, they stated residents in their county lock their homes and
vehicles.
EDWARDS and MCWILLIAMS admitted the night they were
arrested, they were in the area looking for a residence to burglarize and had
attempted to burglarize several vehicles.
Luckily this time, they were unable to find any unlocked vehicles and
the ones that were unlocked had no valuables inside.
It is rare for residential burglaries to occur in the late
night or early morning hours in Rankin County.
This is mainly due to the burglars not wanting to be confronted by the
homeowners who very well may be prepared to protect their property by any means
necessary. They are much more
comfortable attempting the residential burglaries during daylight hours while
they hope the homeowners have left to work their honest jobs.
Vehicle burglaries are more common at night when the
vehicles are home and the burglars have the cover of darkness to operate. They still want to avoid confrontation and
most will avoid breaking windows for fear of being heard.
Locking your vehicle and installing motion sensor activated
lights are two things you can do that will help prevent you from being an easy
target.
Rankin County Court Judge Kent McDaniel denied bond for
EDWARDS and MCWILLIAMS on Tuesday. They
are scheduled for their preliminary hearing on November 14. FRANCIS had his initial appearance today and
was also denied bond.
DA Guest has been kept up-to-date on the developments of
these three criminals and is anxiously awaiting the opportunity to give them
their day in court.
8 comments:
People - how many times do I have to say it...lock your stuff up! Your carelessness is costing me money in insurance premiums
Waterloo?
That would be if they were shot full of holes.
Your analogy is off KF. These idiots have nothing in common with the military genius Napoleon.
"This is mainly due to the burglars not wanting to be confronted by the homeowners who very well may be prepared to protect their property by any means necessary."
That's a nice play on the whole "FREE THE LAND!" movement.
Scratching my noggin’ asvto the Waterloo analogy/reference?
Please enlighten KF!
"Before The Sheriff's Department opened..."? I thought I could go to the sheriff's office any time of night or day and request assistance. Since when do they work bankers' hours?
to 7;02... waterloo is where napoleon met his final and ultimate defeat. you must have studied history at a prestigious SEC university.
to common sense...... oh, i see, its all the fault of crime victims because they dont lock everything up. if you are so stupid as to think that causes you insurance rates to rise you probably believe in the easter bunny and santa clause. insurance rates rise in this state because of collusion , price fixing , and virtual monopolies by the insurance industry and a department of insurance that is so weak it could not regulate a one car funeral.
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