ALTOONA, IA — Two men were arrested Thursday morning after Altoona police tied them to a burst of burglaries and vehicle thefts that unfolded over four days, according to investigators.
Authorities said 27 burglaries were reported during that period, along with the theft of three vehicles. Police said all three vehicles have since been recovered.
Officers also found two juvenile girls who had been reported missing when they arrested the men, adding another urgent layer to the case.
Automated license plate readers helped investigators identify the suspects
Police said automated license plate readers played a key role in locating the men. Investigators said the technology helped them connect the suspects to the string of property crimes and move in on the arrests Thursday morning.
The men were identified as Chance Hill and Jamison Carrico. Authorities have not released additional details about how the arrests unfolded or where the pair was taken into custody.
The case is still developing, but police said the arrest marked a break in a series of thefts that had stretched across several days in Altoona.
Burglary complaints and stolen vehicles spread across Altoona over four days
The reported crimes included a large number of burglaries as well as thefts involving vehicles, which police said made the case broader than a single break-in or isolated theft. Investigators counted 27 burglaries during the four-day period.
Three vehicles were reported stolen, and police said each has now been recovered. That recovery may help investigators piece together where the suspects went and how the thefts were carried out, though officials have not publicly laid out those details.
For local residents and businesses, the scale of the complaints suggested a concentrated crime wave rather than scattered incidents.
Hill and Carrico face theft and burglary charges
Police said Hill and Carrico face multiple charges tied to the alleged spree. Those charges include first-degree theft and third-degree burglary of a motor vehicle.
Officials did not immediately say how many counts each man could face, and additional charges could still follow as investigators review the burglaries and vehicle thefts reported during the four-day span.
The arrests came as police continued sorting through the complaints and connecting recovered property to the reported crimes.
Missing juvenile girls were found with the pair during the arrest
One of the most significant developments came when officers encountered two juvenile girls who had been reported missing. Police said the girls were found with Hill and Carrico at the time of the arrests.
Authorities did not provide further information about the girls’ ages or the circumstances that led to their disappearance. Police also did not say whether the girls were believed to be connected to the burglary investigation or were simply found during the arrest operation.
The discovery added a separate concern to what had already been a major property-crime investigation.
Police are also looking at similar cases in Des Moines
Altoona police said the investigation does not stop at the city line. The men are also being investigated in similar cases in Des Moines, suggesting detectives are comparing patterns across more than one central Iowa community.
That wider review could determine whether the Altoona burglaries were part of a larger series of thefts. For now, police have said only that the pair remains under scrutiny in those comparable cases.
No further details about the Des Moines investigations were released, and officials have not said whether other arrests are expected.
