Arrests made in Mt. Star burglaries

Two Lauderdale County men were arrested in connection with burglaries that occurred over a three-day period in Franklin County, officials said.
Jason Robert Young, Jr., 29, of Florence; and Jonathan Wayne Scott, 32, of Killen, were both arrested on six counts of third-degree burglary, Franklin County Sheriff Shannon Oliver said.
He said additional theft charges would be added once the two suspects were booked into the county jail.
According to Oliver, six separate burglaries and thefts occurred in the Tharptown and Mt. Star areas between Wednesday and Friday of last week.
Oliver said the items stolen ranged from TVs to jewelry to guns and other items.
“The burglars were basically taking anything of value they could get their hands on quickly,” Oliver said.
During the course of the investigation, Oliver said investigators received information that a suspicious vehicle had been seen in the area near one of the burglaries a short time after it had taken place.
“We got the vehicle information and while we were investigating the case, we discovered the Colbert County Sheriff’s Office had received similar information about a vehicle believed to be involved in some burglaries they were working on that had occurred near the county line,” Oliver said.
“We realized at that time that this vehicle was more than likely involved, so that’s what we began to focus our investigation on.”
Oliver said they received a community tip late Friday afternoon that the vehicle matching the description had been spotted near the Franklin-Colbert County line.
“When officers finally got the vehicle stopped in Muscle Shoals, it turns out there were stolen items from some of the Franklin County burglaries inside,” he said.
Oliver said Young and Scott were taken into custody at that time.
At press time, Oliver said both Young and Scott were still being processed at the Colbert County Sheriff’s Office for alleged burglaries in their county and would be transferred to the Franklin County Jail late Tuesday and formally charged and booked at that time.
“We’re just glad that we were able to arrest these two because I believe they wouldn’t have stopped and would have kept on stealing from other people until they finally were caught,” Oliver said.
“It’s sad that the people of this county work hard for the things they have just to have them stolen by someone else.”
Oliver said investigators have been working since Friday to recover the stolen items, many of which have been recovered and identified.
Oliver said the case is still under investigation.