PRESS RELEASE

19 February 2021

Beginning in September of 2020 the Sheriff's Office began investigating a series of residential Burglary/Thefts all occurring randomly on the same day of the week and on the same two roads in the County. Multiple firearms, electronics and jewelry were taken during these Burglaries. Investigators conducted surveillance of the areas several days with no success.

On February 09, 2021 Deputies and Maplesville Police responded to a Burglary in progress on AL Hwy 191 in the Isabella area where a homeowner observed (3) three individuals in masks break into his home through a wireless surveillance system. The suspects fled the area prior to Deputies arriving. One short frame of the video caught one of the suspects without his mask pulled up. When Investigators processed the scene, evidence was collected that indicated the suspects were possibly from the Selma/Dallas County area. The video surveillance was distributed to Dallas County area law enforcement and that suspect was positively identified by Dallas County Sheriff's and Selma Police Investigators. A second Burglary/Theft was reported shortly afterwards on County Rd 73, which was the second area the Burglaries had been occurring.

On February 10, 2021 the first suspect, Kourtney Labarro Jones, 36, of Selma was taken into custody on Burglary and Theft Charges. At the time of his arrest, Jones was wanted in (3) three other Jurisdictions on felony Theft charges. Follow up investigation gave Investigators probable cause to obtain a search warrant for a Selma residence. That search warrant was executed on the night of February 10, 2021. Investigators located a stolen firearm, seized a large quantity of crack cocaine, Ecstacy tablets, clothing worn during the Burglaries and identified the vehicle used in the February 09, 2021 Burglaries. Investigators also identified the second suspect as Bardarious Jorkeise Hall, 27, of Selma.

Additional investigation identified the third suspect as Tramaine Cardale Walter Sr., 30, of Jemison. Investigators were able to develop probable cause to obtain a search warrant for a Jemison residence where Walter lived. During the course of that search, Investigators located property stolen from both Burglaries on February 09, 2021 and other Burglaries that the Sheriff's Office had been investigating in those areas. Investigators also recovered stolen property from a recent Burglary/Theft in Dallas County.

All three suspects have been Charged with Burglary, Theft, and Criminal Mischief offenses. This investigation is ongoing and more charges are expected as Investigators receive reports from different forensic examinations and are able to correlate all the evidence. The Sheriff's Office was assisted by Investigators from the Dallas County Sheriff's Office, the Selma Police Department, the Clanton Police Department, the State Bureau of Investigation, and the Alabama Attorney General's Office.

"It's usually one small piece that falls into place that solves the puzzle in these kinds of cases. We had spent many, many hours trying to catch these guys. In this case it was one small piece of video and some trash that started the puzzle coming together. Once we got those pieces, Investigations worked almost around the clock until all three suspects were in custody. Unfortunately we don't always have immediate success, but we take folks' homes being broken into, their privacy being violated, and what they worked for being stolen seriously. We will be contacting victims over the course of the next couple of weeks to identify property that we have recovered. It's a slow process but we want to make sure that we are successful in taking these guys off the street."-Sheriff John Shearon.