Poplar Bluff man suspected of breaking into cars during church services

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Poplar Bluff man is suspected of breaking into cars during recent services at two different churches and stealing items from the vehicles.

Teamwork led to Cody Duran Mayse, 29, being arrested in the break-ins of numerous vehicles at Agee Fellowship Church on Sept. 11 and Fellowship General Baptist Church on Aug. 28, said Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs.

Mayse, 29, of the 600 block of Bearden Road, allegedly used a pry bar to break out the windows of each vehicle and steal purses. The break ins and thefts occurred during church services both Sundays. Dobbs said there were five victims at Agee Fellowship Church and two at Fellowship General Baptist Church.

"About 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11, alert citizens in Butler County observed an individual walking near the wood line of a private lane, " said Dobbs. He was walking near Agee Church about the time the burglaries occurred.

"His vehicle, a gold car with a temporary tag in the windshield, was parked nearby," the sheriff added.

Later that night, three officers from the sheriff's department conducted an extensive search of the area. That search led officers to a small pond where the stolen purses were recovered.

Dobbs said officers pulled every temporary tag -- about 100 -- issued since Aug. 1. They found numerous vehicles that matched the description of the gold car, but through the process of elimination found one car that had been purchased by Mayse's girlfriend. Dobbs said members of his department had to go through each of the temporary tags one at a time, which was very time consuming.

Further investigation found Mayse was on probation and wanted on an outstanding warrant as an absconder.

Friday evening, Dobbs said he "tasked the entire evening shift to find the car and Mayse." The suspect was located about 10 p.m. Friday at the Bearden Road residence by sheriff's department Cpl. Brandon Lowe and Deputy Mike Tinker. He was hiding in a closet.

During the process of serving the warrant, deputies said they found a methamphetamine lab in one area and the items to use in making the illegal drug in another area inside the house.

Mayse's girlfriend said she did not know where several items came from that deputies found in the house. Mayse had given her a ring and a necklace with a heart charm.

Dobbs said she admitted he had left the residence shortly before church services would have begun at both churches.

She told investigators Mayse had taken the license plates off the car and put the temp tag in the window. After the break ins, he put the plate back on, but he left the temporary tag in a folder in the car, explained investigator Wesley Popp.

The witnesses who first reported the suspicious person on the road near the wood line, "have already identified him and the vehicle," Dobb said.

Dobbs said he is seeking formal charges of felony tampering with a motor vehicle, stealing and property damage. The sheriff estimated the damage to each of the vehicles broken into at between $200 and $500.

Mayse is being held in Butler County jail on the probation violation warrant and on suspicion of possession illegal drugs.

"The whole team at the sheriff's department made this a personal quest to find this individual to make people feel comfortable when they go to places of worship," Dobbs said.

Pertinent address:

Poplar Bluff, MO