Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Police say they've linked two men arrested during a break-in last week in Salina to more than 10 burglaries and say they're just getting started.

Police say they caught the men while they were in middle of burglarizing a Salina veterinary clinic. Police believe the two suspects are behind a recent string of burglaries.

Robert Finnell says he loves music, so his job at SM Hanson Music is a perfect fit.

“Most enjoyable part about my job is being able to get that little kid in their first guitar and on the road to music and learning,” Finnell said.

That's why he says he took it pretty hard when the store was broken into not once but twice in 24 hours.

“It was kind of violating to me, i put a lot of pride in the store,” Finnell said.

Now, the stolen items are back where they belong.

Police say after they arrested two men, Michael Cox and Stephen Rowson, they were able to track down a storage locker filled with stolen goods.

“We have half a garage full of items that we have not yet been able to return to the owners,” Salina Police Deputy Chief Carson Mansfield said.

So far police say they've charged each man with about ten business burglaries but they say they expect to link them to a lot more of the 30 plus burglaries in Salina since Septmeber.

“People got frustrated because were weren't getting them, and we were as frustrated as anyone. But we put a lot of effort into it and the guys put their heart and soul into it and it finally paid off,” Deputy Chief Mansfield said.

Salina police say they also found evidence in the storage locker that could link the two men to a burglary in Abilene as well.