Burglary ring stole from throughout the Midlands, sheriff says

Three men who have been arrested on several charges are accused of being part of a burglary ring that spanned four jurisdictions.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said the three men – Michael Smalls, 24, Jamel Burgess, 18, and Thaddeus Peterson, 19 – participated in a crime spree that involved stolen items from Richland County, Columbia, Irmo and Kershaw County. The men are facing additional charges filed by the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Department and the Irmo Police Department, Lott said.

In Richland County, the men are facing the following charges:

• Smalls was charged with seven counts of burglary, six counts of larceny, three counts of possession of a stolen weapon, two counts of receiving stolen goods, one count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine and one count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine within a half mile of a school.
• Burgess was charged with three counts of burglary and two counts of grand larceny.
• Peterson was charged with charged with two counts of burglary and two counts of grand larceny.

Smalls was initially identified as a suspect in a February burglary at the Village of Columbia, Lott said. While serving a search warrant at Smalls’ home, investigators found 18 bags of cocaine and several stolen items that were linked to the six burglaries, including handguns, laptops, iPads, cell phones and gaming consoles, Lott said.

Burgess and Peterson were then identified as helping Smalls in the crime spree, Lott said.

All three were arrested on different dates. Smalls was arrested on April 21, Burgess was served with a warrant in May while he was already in custody in Calhoun County on unrelated charges, and Peterson was arrested on Sunday. All three are being held at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.

This story was originally published June 28, 2017 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Burglary ring stole from throughout the Midlands, sheriff says."