Sex, drugs and stolen TVs (with crack house photo gallery)

Madison Police believe they have ended burglary ring

Doug Shore  —  6/12/2008 7:23 pm

Madison Police have unraveled an extensive burglary operation involving sex, drugs, and stolen televisions.

Detectives working alongside the city's Blue Net Burglary Task Force believe they have put an end to a "smash-and-grab" burglary ring that has been plaguing Madison businesses for months.

According to Joel DeSpain, public information officer for the Madison Police Department, the pattern of burglaries ended last month as the task force infiltrated the operation and made a significant number of arrests.

A big break in the case came when detectives learned that a home on Greenway View near Todd Drive was being used as a smoke house for crack dealers who were involved with the recent spate of burglaries.

According to police, women were performing sex acts with the dealers in the house in exchange for crack cocaine. Detectives eventually learned that dealers informed their customers they would sell crack in exchange for large, flat screen televisions. This led to the recent surge in "smash-and-grab" burglaries throughout the city, police said.

One of the burglaries took place at Wiggy's Bar on Aberg Avenue on April 30. Security cameras captured images of the suspects and their getaway van. The van matched the description of a vehicle that had been stopped for a traffic violation roughly two weeks earlier. Although no arrest was made at the time, the officer noticed a crow bar and large rock in the van and passed this information on to the task force.

A search warrant was executed at the Greenway View home on May 8. Two men were arrested on probation violations. Detective Mike Montie said that the home, which was filled with garbage, was being used "24/7" as a smoke house. It will likely be torn down, according to police.

In the following weeks, the task force executed several more arrest warrants, discovering four of the missing televisions in the process.

Thus far, the task force has executed four search warrants relating to the case and referred a total of 16 burglary charges against six suspects. Detectives are in the process of obtaining arrest warrants for two additional suspects.

"There is a spider-web of activity here," said Madison Police Lieutenant Mark Brown, "and we are at the center of the web right now."

Although police believe they have put an end to the "smash-and-grab" campaign, they do not possess the evidence necessary to make arrests for all of the burglaries that occurred in recent months.

"There were many more burglaries than we will be able to charge," said Montie. "But more arrests will be made."

The task force is also working in conjunction with officials from Columbia County to bust burglary operations involving stolen metal and bar break-ins.

Citywide crime statistics released in March of this year indicated a sharp increase in the number burglaries in 2007. The statistics showed that residential and business burglaries climbed more than 26 percent last year.

Police Chief Noble Wray responded to the statistics by launching the Blue Net Task Force in order to reverse the trend. Led by Lieutenant Brown, Blue Net is focusing on establishing a coordinated response to residential and commercial burglaries.

When he announced the Blue Net operation earlier this year, Wray noted that the "smash-and-grab" crimes were something the department was not familiar with.

Blue Net is the latest of Madison Police Department's "Blue" efforts, which began over 20 years ago with Blue Tent, an operation to stop the sex for sale industry near the Capitol. Blue Blanket was a 1990's effort to curb street level drug sales throughout the city.

Doug Shore  —  6/12/2008 7:23 pm