A recent up-tick in the number of burglaries, both in the city and county, took a more sinister turn this week.
Thieves apparently set fire to a garage about 3 a.m. Monday (July 19) at 2215 Elizabethtown Road, the home of local realtor Danny Gibson.
Leitchfield Police Chief Elmer Langdon, said a special arson investigator was combing through the ashes of the detached metal building behind Gibson's home.
An exact cause of the blaze, one that Gibson told police meant a loss of between $40,000 and $60,000 to him, had not been determined by press time Friday.
Investigators are treating the fire as arson that may have involved two or three persons in the setting of it.
A neighbor of Gibson's, Dale Whitmore, 2295 Elizabethtown Road, is missing a 16-foot trailer valued at $1,200, police reports said.
Thieves apparently loaded a Dixie Chopper lawnmower onto the trailer, but the mower fell off as the thieves drove away, Langdon said.
Stolen during the burglary-arson was a 450 Honda 4-wheeler, a 70cc Honda 4-wheeler and several other items of value.
The fire had spread to a truck belonging to Gibson that he had backed up to the garage's doors the night before so that they couldn't be opened. That truck was seriously damaged by the blaze.
Inside the garage, Gibson said he had a 1951 Chevy truck he was restoring, but it is totaled. Gibson also has been collecting tools since he was 18 years old. All those were damaged to the point they are lost, too, he said.
Leitchfield Police said Friday they had taken two suspects into custody early in the morning, and both are being interviewed. They could not confirm an arrest, but did say "the investigation is winding down."
Gibson said he is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the persons responsible for the thefts and the fire.
Although there was no apparent connection between this case and a burglary arrest by the Sheriff's Office, a Clarkson man was arrested in Leitchfield July 20 for burglary.
Bryan Carraway, 28, of Clarkson, was arrested by Sheriff's Deputy Bryan Hammons for 2nd degree burglary.
The victim, Fairley Williams, 107 Logan Lane, Leitchfield, caught Carraway in his house and attempted to detain him until the police arrived.
Carraway managed to evade Williams and escaped by foot. He was caught on White Lane by Sheriff David Simon.
A 2nd degree burglary charge is a class C felony, and carries a sentence, with conviction, of 5-10 years imprisonment.
Simon had reported earlier a total of 20 burglaries in the county during June.
He said those reports were "coming from all over the county, and there doesn't seem to be one area they're hitting.
"There doesn't seem to be a pattern, either, in the items being taken," he said.
He urged county residents to secure any item of value on their property and remain alert.
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