Police seek public’s help in recent home break-ins

The crime

About 5 a.m. on Feb. 28, a man living in the 4900 block of South Elmhurst – near 47th Street South and Southeast Boulevard – got up to go to a restaurant for coffee. About an hour later his wife awakened.

She got up and turned on the living room lights. That’s when she heard something, but was unsure whether the noise was inside or outside.

She walked to the back door and saw that it was ajar. When she walked over and turned on a light she realized someone was outside. When she opened the door all the way, she saw that her storm door had been propped open and a door into the garage and their backyard shed were open.

Inside she discovered money was missing from her wallet and three of her rings were taken from her kitchen table. The rings are a plain silver band, a silver band with a black stone and a silver “Mother’s Ring” with five different gemstones.

While processing the crime scene, deputies found a pair of bolt cutters near the shed. It was determined they came from the garage.

A neighbor who lives in the 3200 block of East Oaklawn came home while deputies were processing her neighbors’ scene. She went over and told them that her front storm door was propped open.

When they went into her house they found that the bedroom window had been pried open, and the place was ransacked. A 55-inch television and a bag of old coins were taken.

Deputies noticed that her front porch light had been unscrewed, and the carport light had been unplugged. Her backyard shed had been unlocked with a key the suspect found inside her home. A bag of tools taken from the shed were found in the backyard.

Whom to contact

If you have information about these crimes, call Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111. You can also submit a tip online at www.WichitaCrimeStoppers.com. Crime Stoppers now has a new mobile app for the public to submit tips about criminal and suspicious activities. If your tip leads to an arrest you may be eligible for a cash reward up to $2,500, and Crime Stoppers will never ask your name. Crime Stoppers of Wichita/Sedgwick County, a division of the Wichita Crime Commission, is a nonprofit organization of citizens against crime that relies 100 percent on donations from the community to pay for tips.

Crime Stoppers case number: 1710

Department case number: 17S002155; 17S002157

Lead detective: Detective Wint, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office

This story was originally published March 17, 2017 at 2:30 PM with the headline "Police seek public’s help in recent home break-ins."