Thanks to the collaborated efforts of the officers of the Osceola Police Department, the recent rash of car and home burglaries have ended.
“They've been after him since it started,” said Police Chief Duffus. “After a long weekend of surveillance, we ended up arresting a guy.”
Dustin Edward Fickes, 28, of Van Wert was charged 3:47 a.m. Sunday, March 19, in the 300 block of South Fillmore Street.
According to Osceola Police reports, an officer saw Fickes walking along South Fillmore Street and questioned him about car burglaries reported in the area. Fickes, who smelled of marijuana, eventually admitted to throwing a pipe in the alley. Upon investigation, police found a black Green Machine Case containing a baggie of green leafy substance and baggie of white crystalline substance.
Fickes admitted he threw the container down before he got into the vehicle and that the items inside it were his. He admitted the substances were marijuana and methamphetamine and that had a plastic pencil container with a socket he used to smoke the marijuana.
While being questioned, Fickes admitted to all of the vehicle burglaries committed on McPherson Street in the early morning hours on Saturday, March 18. He also admitted to having possession of a Ruger handgun. Fickes is a convicted felon.
He said he threw some of the items reported as stolen, while others he took to a residence in Van Wert. Officers were able to recover some of the items there.
“He confessed to 13 burglaries. We tripped him up and caught him in some stories.” said Duffus. “Charges range from burglary to theft to criminal mischief.”
Third-degree burglary involved stealing items from vehicles, while criminal mischief relates to damage, such as broken windows.
“Theft would be based upon the value of some of the items within the car itself,” said Duffus.
Fiskes is also facing home burglary and drug-related charges.
“He has a prior conviction, so a lot of these are second offenses,” said Robin Duffus, Osceola Police administrative assistant.
Keeping eyes on Osceola
Without a citywide surveillance system in place — currently impossible due to costs, privacy concerns and data storage constraints — officers had to work together over long hours to make sure the city's most vulnerable neighborhoods were covered night and day.
“Officers don’t like things happening on their shifts, so when they do, they take it somewhat personally, The guys did a heck of a job,” said Duffus. “They really coordinated with each other very well.”
As they continue to process evidence, more charges may be added. In the meantime, Fickes is being held on $5,000 bond and has requested a court-appointed attorney.