Burglaries in Vancleave Have Sheriff’s Dept. Working Hard

A recent string of home burglaries in Vancleave has the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department working several leads.

Law enforcement has a description of a suspect from Tuesday’s break-in, but is asking for more information from the community. Tuesday’s burglary on Humphrey Road is the latest in a recent increase in home invasions in Vancleave, leaving the Sheriff looking for answers and residents locking their doors. Dallas Borries, a Vancleave resident and hospice caretaker, says, "I’m a single mother, I stay at home, I take care of an elderly person, I’m a caretaker. That’s why we keep guns in the house."

There have been multiple break-ins of a similar nature throughout Jackson County recently, leading law enforcement to believe all are the work of one man. They feel someone in the community holds the key to solving these crimes. Mike Ezell, Jackson County Sheriff, says, "We have had some firearms stolen, we have had cash stolen, we have had some televisions stolen. It’s opportunist, but we don’t know for sure if it’s one or more than one person involved. That’s the reason we need as much help from the community as possible."

Jackson County residents are being asked to report anything out of the ordinary, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Borries also says, "My generator was stolen recently. I had someone siphon my gas right out of my yard."

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department is currently working several leads, but is asking anyone with any information to please step forward, because in areas like Vancleave, where your closest neighbor could be over half a mile away, community support is more important than ever. Ezell also says, "Whoever this person is or these people are kicking doors in. We don’t want someone to be home when this happens because it could be real bad from there."

The Sheriff’s Department wants to stop these crimes before they escalate and residents are starting to think of ways to protect themselves.

Borries closes, "Maybe not putting on Facebook that you’re going out of town, for the abandoned houses, but someone could be there one day and it could turn violent."