A string of burglaries may have been solved Wednesday morning, though word got out a little sooner than authorities would have liked.

It was mainly electronic equipment that was hauled out of a home on Old Citico Road after a man found in Madisonville was interviewed about the burglaries the night before. There were also items found in Christopher Stalvey's car.

"This wasn't something that just started a couple of days ago," said Monroe County Sheriff's Detective Doug Brannon. "These burglaries had been going on for 6-7 months, maybe even a year, and we were finally starting to bring everything together."

Criminals don't recognize the jurisdiction lines of law enforcement, so the burglaries occurred both in the county and inside the city limits of Sweetwater and Madisonville.
"The investigation wasn't through," Brannon said. "We were going to great lengths to keep the general public from finding out about this, but now everybody that knew this man knows we talked to him and about the items we found. We could have recovered more stolen items, but they're probably lost now."

"It was like a baseball game that gets rained out in the fifth inning," Monroe County Sheriff's Drug Officer Conway Mason said. "We were winning, then the rain came and we had to quit."
"It's terrible to be violated like this as a citizen," Sheriff Bill Bivens said. "You lose property and become worried they'll return."

The investigation, which was conducted jointly between the Sheriff's Office and the Sweetwater and Madisonville police departments, turned up wide screen TV's, video game systems, a generator, air compressor, welder, miniature motorcycles, a full sized motorcycle, a handgun, stereo equipment, 4-wheelers, computers and other items.

"The cooperation between the three departments really helped solve this case," said Madisonville Police Chief Gregg Breeden. "Talking with each other is the only way to be successful when it come to burglary cases."

No burglary charges have been filed against Stalvey yet, but that should change soon. "We're not really sure what he was doing with all the items," Brannon said. "There's no doubt some items were exchanged for drugs, as we found some narcotics. But we also found cash. Yet, he also had some of this hooked up and was using it. We're still investigating."

Stalvey is being charged in connection with the drugs found at his mother's house. Mason said Stalvey had prescriptions for the medication, but he admitted he had been trading the pills for items people brought him. Now it's up to law enforcement to find out how many of those items were stolen.
Stalvey is charged with possession of legend drugs for resale, two counts possession of Oxycodone for resale, two counts possession of Methadone for resale, possession of Xanax for resale and possession of a firearm during the commission of a drug felony.

Sweetwater Police Chief Eddie Byrum also said another scam was being looked at in the area.
"People are renting items from the rent to own places, and then they're getting stolen," he said. "We're sure some of the reports of theft are genuine, but we're also sure some are set ups. They report a TV stolen, the rental place has to eat the cost, then the TV turns up somewhere else. We're looking to put a stop to it real soon."

Anyone who has had such items stolen in recent times is encouraged to contact the sheriff's office to see if any have been recovered.

michael.thomason@advocateanddemocrat.com | 442-4575