Robert Johnson, Jr.-photo Kan. Dpt. of Corrections
HARVEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities in Harvey County are investigating a suspect in connection with a series of burglaries.
Beginning in September 2015 the city of Newton experienced numerous residential and vehicular burglaries, which appeared to be the work of a single serial burglar, according to police. These offenses abruptly stopped in late January of 2016.
During the course of the investigation, the Newton Police Department learned of similar offenses occurring in many jurisdictions in the region.
These agencies partnered, shared information, and have diligently been investigating these crimes since the beginning.
Police reported on Wednesday they are confident the serial burglar has been identified, and an arrest has been made.
During the early morning hours of Tuesday, a man was apprehended during the commission of a similar offense in Derby, according to police.
Rapid sharing of information led investigators to connecting numerous burglaries in the Newton area, Park City, Wichita, and Derby.
Numerous eye witness identifications and video evidence has identified as the suspect as Robert Johnson Jr.
He was paroled after a 20 year prison term, and moved to Newton in August of 2015, before relocating to Wichita.
Police believe Robert was targeting locations randomly, and acted alone while committing these crimes.
One factor, which may have played a role in ending the offenses in Newton, was the community’s response to warnings about securing residences. We believe it was this partnership with the community, which saw an increase in reported suspicious activity, heightened vigilance with regard to locking doors, and checking on neighbors, which made the difference.