Sikeston teen arrested for string of burglaries

SIKESTON, Mo. — The arrest of a juvenile apparently solves a recent string of burglaries which caused thousands of dollars in damage.

According to a news release issued Thursday evening by Sikeston Department of Public Safety, officers responded to an alarm at Sikeston Public School's Alternative Education Center, 835 W. Murray Lane, on Feb. 14. At the school, the officer found a 14-year-old male near a broken window. The teen was arrested for burglary and for causing $300 worth of damage to the school's windows.

During this incident, officers were already investigating a burglary at the Murray Lane Baptist Church, located adjacent to the school. This investigation resulted in the same juvenile being charged for that burglary, which included the vandalizing of the church's interior causing almost $4,000 worth of damage.

Detective Chris Rataj conducted an interview with the teen and was able to charge him with three additional burglaries. Two of these burglaries were at the SEMO Food Bank and one at the Sikeston Food Pantry, located on South Kingshighway in Sikeston.

At the conclusion of the interview, a Scott County juvenile officer took the juvenile the Mississippi County Detention Center where he was being held on five counts of burglary and property damage.

"It still isn't known why the juvenile committed the crimes other than to vandalize the property," said Sgt. Jim McMillen in the news release. "Detectives are looking into other recent burglaries to see if this juvenile may have had some involvement in those incidents as well."