Sullivan Deputies Recover Stolen Christmas Gifts

On Dec. 12 Sullivan County deputies responded to a residence on Cold Spring Road in Thompson to take a report of a burglary from a homeowner. The complainant told deputies that she had gone Christmas shopping the day before and had left her children's gifts in the car overnight.

Deputies discovered wrapping paper and packaging from the gifts along the roadside in the neighborhood and began interviewing neighbors.

During the canvass of the neighborhood, deputies identified three teenage boys from Southwoods Road in Thompson they considered to be the likely thieves.  Two 18-year-olds and a 15-year-old were arrested on Dec. 16 on a misdemeanor charge of Larceny.

As the police interviewed the teens they gathered information linking the two 18-year-old boys to a September bungalow burglary in which burglars stole an MP3 player from a residence and proceeded to steal a golf cart from the same address in order to make their getaway.

The two older detainees, Zachary P. Matthews and John Schultz III, were charged with felony grand larceny in the fourth Degree and burglary in the second degree along with a misdemeanor charge of Petit Larceny for the bungalow heist.

Both teens who are currently on probation for other incidents were released on their own recognizance pending a future court appearance. Their alleged accomplice from the gift stealing break-in was released to his parents pending a future appearance in family court.