Published: October 09, 2008 03:34 pm      

Arrest may solve over two dozen burglaries

Man charged; female questioned in crime spree

Cumberland County sheriff's investigators and Crossville Police detectives working together have arrested a suspect in a series of burglaries and believe they may eventually solve more than two dozen business and residential break-ins. A female acquaintance of the man charged has also been questioned, according to reports.

Zachariah Drakos, 22, 29 Brookside Dr., Apt. 3, was arrested Sept. 20 by city police on three counts of burglary and three counts of theft. Details of that arrest have just recently been made available. Drakos specifically is accused of breaking into W & W Auto at 686 Sparta Hwy. and stealing a $325 check and $450 cash; of breaking into Tony's Nails at 726 Hwy. 70 E and stealing a flat screen television valued at $900 and $4,000 in cash; and with breaking into Tanrageous Tanning Salon at 892 Fourth St. and taking $20 in tanning lotion samples.

The sheriff's department has charged Drakos with two counts of burglary and theft, but information was not available on those incidents. It is expected that evidence in as many as 30-plus burglaries will be presented to a future session of the county's grand jury for consideration of indictment.

A female companion of Drakos, a 20-year-old Truman Sherrill Rd. resident, was picked up when Drakos was arrested. She was questioned and later released. It is not known if she will be charged in connection with the crime spree.

Crossville Police Ptl. Bill Padgett on Sept. 20 received information from an informant about a series of burglaries inside and outside the city. The informant had information that had not been released to the public and was deemed credible, so investigators from both departments got together during the dark early morning hours and went to Brookside Dr. to obtain logistic information to obtain a search warrant.

Officers also recovered from the informant foreign coins that had been reportedly stolen from Porky's Barbecue on Lantana Rd.

However, before officers could obtain a search warrant, Drakos and the female approached Dets. Gene Hall and Kendall Hargis and Investigator Bo Kollros in the parking lot of the Brookside Dr. apartments and engaged in a conversation with the officers.

This led to permission being granted by Drakos to investigators to search a silver 2002 Ford Explorer. Inside the vehicle officers found a box of vinyl gloves and a pair of two-way radios.

A search warrant was obtained for Drakos' apartment and inside officers found a ripped up check that had been taken from W & W Auto, a flat-screen TV reportedly taken from Tony's Nails, a second flat-screen TV, two laptop computers and several other items.

Assistant District Attorney Amanda Hunter also responded to the scene to assist investigators.