Affidavit: Safes, electronics, Hawaiian punch stolen during Rusk County church burglaries

RUSK COUNTY, TX (KLTV) – Two suspects in a string of recent church and business burglaries in Rusk County stole just about everything but the kitchen sink from the locations they broke into, according to probable cause affidavits obtained by East Texas News.

The items stolen in the burglaries include guitars, keyboards, soundboards, TVs, safes, cash registers, checks, and Hawaiian Punch drinks.

Jeremiah Boone, 20 of Henderson, and Christian Cannon, 20, of Yukon, Oklahoma, are still being held in the Rusk County Jail. Each man was charged with eight counts of state-jail felony burglary of a building. Cannon was also charged with driving under the influence under the age of 21 and no seat belt.

Boone’s collective bond amount has been set at $160,000. Because Cannon’s bond amount includes his two misdemeanor charges, his collective bond amount is $160,643.

On July 26, the Henderson Police Department and the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office hosted a joint press conference about the rash of burglaries.Boone and Cannon were arrested last week. During the press conference, the Rusk County law enforcement agencies stated that the two men are suspects in eight church burglaries and the burglaries of two businesses.

The probable cause affidavits East Texas News obtained Monday provide details on six of the churches that were burglarized, along with the two businesses.

Officials said during the press conference that they were notified of the burglaries on July 23, and they started their joint investigation then. Authorities believe the burglaries occurred in the two weeks before the press conference. They also said they are looking into whether Boone and Cannon are connected to various home and vehicle burglaries that have occurred recently in Rusk County.

According to one of the probable cause affidavits, Cannon sold two guitars at the Tyler Guitar Center on July 23. Then on the next day, he and Boone tried to sell 10 or 11 additional guitars at that location. However, this time, the employee at the Tyler Guitar Center refused to buy the guitars from the two men, the affidavit stated.

In addition, the employee at the guitar business made note of the descriptions of some of the guitars Boone and Cannon allegedly tried to sell, and one of them matched the description of a guitar that was stolen from Hillview Baptist Church.

Officials said they were able to make these arrests because of good communication between law enforcement agencies and the community.

“Due to a local business in Tyler and their attention to detail, they observed several guitars come into their business and they contacted Tyler Police Department,” Henderson Police Chief Chad Taylor said. “The Tyler Police Department realized that we had several burglaries involving musical instruments they called us and that’s where everything started rolling.”

Property stolen from the reported burglaries was recovered by law enforcement during the execution of a search warrant along with property from an unreported burglary of another church in Henderson.

The property was recovered from locations in Mesquite, Tyler, and Henderson, according to the police department.

The probable cause affidavits stated that the following businesses were burglarized and listed the items that were stolen.

In a press release, the Henderson Police Department thanked the Tyler Police Department, stating they “played a pivotal role in this investigation.”

According to the Henderson Police Department and Rusk County Sheriff’s Office, a business in Tyler notified Tyler police that they were sold what they believed to be stolen property. Tyler police contacted Henderson police when it was determined that the property could be connected to the church burglaries.

During the press conference, officials stated the investigation is still ongoing and there is a possibility of more suspects connected to the burglaries. Law enforcement states burglaries are still occurring in Rusk County and advised residents to be vigilant.

“Keep an eye out and watch out for your neighbors,” said Rusk County Sheriff Jeff Price.

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