Latest burglaries in Cape may be related

Less than a month after the conviction of Mark P. Lowery, who confessed to more than 100 burglaries in Cape Girardeau County over the past three years, police are now investigating a new string of burglaries.

Six burglaries committed in Cape Girardeau since Sept. 4 may be connected, said police spokesman Cpl. Adam Glueck.

As with the majority of the burglaries that were eventually linked to Lowery, the incidents all occurred during daytime, Glueck said. The latest burglary occurred around 1:30 p.m., but most of the houses were hit before noon, he said.

In one of the burglaries, the residents of the home were gone for about an hour an a half, indicating that the perpetrators may have been watching the house, Glueck said.

Four of the burglaries occurred Tuesday. One of those was an attempted break-in in which nothing was taken, but the homeowners did report some damage to a carport door that had been partially forced open.

In most of the incidents, the intruder or intruders typically gained entry by prying open a door to the house or garage, leaving marks and scratches behind, Glueck said.

Video games, DVDs, a GPS system and medication were also reported stolen, but on the whole, the burglar or burglars seems to be targeting jewelry, the same pattern that surfaced in Lowery's burglaries, Glueck said. However, the perpetrators passed up inexpensive jewelry in favor of pricier items, indicating they might know the resale value of jewelry.

"They're similar in that in some cases it looks like inexpensive jewelry is being passed over," Glueck said.

A jewelry box was pried open at one of the homes, but nothing in it appeared to have been taken, he said. At another house, the burglar took an entire chest of jewelry, as well as a watch valued at about $5,000.

All of the burglaries occurred on the north or west sides of town and were relatively close to one another, Glueck said.

Though Lowery was believed to have operated with a partner, he refused to give up the name of that individual. Glueck declined to say whether there is significant evidence that there could be a connection between Lowery and whoever is committing the recent burglaries.

In August, Lowery was sentenced to 40 years in prison as a prior and persistent offender. Though he confessed to many more, he was charged only in two burglaries, as per an agreement he'd made with prosecutors to assist in the recovery of stolen items and cooperate with the investigation.

Anyone with any information on the burglaries is urged to contact the Cape Girardeau Police Department at 335-6621 or CrimeStoppers at 332-0500.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, MO