Case of car break-ins reported in Gainesville now with juvenile office

Ozark County Sheriff Cass Martin said that officers investigated a string of at least seven vehicle break-ins that were reported in the Gainesville area on a snowy Jan. 6, when officers were also working tirelessly to help clear several snow-induced traffic incidents from Ozark County streets and roadways. 

According to the sheriff’s report, some residents only found their glove compartment contents strewn on their vehicle floor, while others were missing various items of value that included a firearm, ammunition, a wallet, a checkbook and other items.

Martin said he can’t comment on the suspects, but the investigation has now been turned over to the juvenile division, presumably meaning the suspects in the case are under the age of 18. 

Information on juvenile court records is generally not available to the public; therefore the Times cannot report further on the matter. 

The reports are listed here:

One report from a residence on Sixth Street was called into the sheriff’s office at 6:06 a.m. Jan. 6. The caller told a dispatcher that someone had broken into their truck sometime during the night, and they’d found a knife missing. They were unsure if anything else was missing and were going to continue to look through the truck. 

The second report, from a resident on Harlin Drive, was called in about two hours later at 8:04 a.m. That caller told a dispatcher that their vehicle was also broken into sometime during the night. The caller said they’d left the vehicle doors unlocked, but the contents of the glove box and center console were strewn about the floor and the passenger’s door was sitting open, which prompted them to the break-in. That caller hadn’t found anything that had been stolen. 

The third report came in around 11:43 a.m. when the caller reported their car on Fourth Street had been broken into and a bluetooth speaker and ice scraper had been taken. 

The fourth report was called into the dispatcher at 1:16 p.m. that day from Cedar Oak Drive. That resident said two of her vehicles were broken into and she was missing a camouflaged spotlight and a Remington 700 firearm. 

The fifth report, made at 2:12 p.m., was from another caller on Cedar Oak Drive who’d found that a box of Winchester bullets had been taken from a truck in their drive. 

A sixth report, made at 6:34 p.m., was also from Cedar Oak Drive. That caller said he’d went out to his car, and all the glove box contents were thrown into the floor. He didn’t immediately see anything missing, but he was going to check more closely and report anything that was. 

A seventh report, made at 7:05 p.m., was the fourth caller from Cedar Oak Drive. That caller said she realized that her boyfriend’s wallet was missing from inside their car. 

An eighth report, made at 11:45 a.m. Jan. 8, was from a church employee who said someone had broken into the church vehicles and went through all the glove boxes there. The caller said the church’s checkbook was also missing. 

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423