HEBRON, Ky. – Detectives noticed a child wearing stolen jewelry taken in five recent home burglaries and arrested the parents, the Boone County Sheriff's Office says.
Officials say the father, Michael Ritchey, denied taking part in the burglaries until detectives showed him a surveillance video of him in one of the homes. (See the video in the player above).
Detectives Adam Schepis and Phil Ridgell caught the couple - with the child in the backseat - apparently casing a home on River Road just after noon Tuesday. They said they watched a car driving aimlessly and then pull into a driveway in the 7000 block. The male driver walked toward the house and the passenger stayed in the car.
When the detectives approached, Schepis recognized property in the car that had been taken in one of the burglaries. The child, in a car seat, was wearing some of the stolen jewelry.
Ritchey, 37, and Meaghan Roll, 32, of Fort Thomas, blamed their heroin addictions for the burglaries, according to the sheriff's office.
Ritchey and Roll are charged with five burglary counts and also face warrants from other jurisdictions. Both are in the Boone County Detention Center. The child was placed with grandparents.
The burglaries took place over a five-day period beginning Sept. 22.
