By John Howell
A tip from an alert Charleston pawn shop owner has led to the arrest of six people for the November 1 and 2 burglaries at Hock It To Me Pawn Shop, Batesville Police Department Detective Captain George Williford said.

The pawn shop owner was prompted by a November 4 posting on The Panolian’s Facebook page showing a John Deere mower like one of the items taken in the Batesville burglary. He realized that he had purchased a similar walk-behind, self-propelled, zero-turn mower the day before and contacted Batesville police, Williford said.

“Everything unraveled after that,” the detective said.

Charged with burglary and grand larceny are Kalvin Martin Flowers, Jamarion Markise Lee, Anthony Albert Sims Jr.,  Edward Jerome Oliver Jr., Lyndon Mosley Jr. and Artavis Jamal Clark. One juvenile has also been charged in the burglary.

Williford said that the alleged burglars apparently parked a vehicle some distance away and walked to the Highway 51 pawn shop. They targeted an auxiliary building that was not wired for an alarm, allegedly taking the lawn mower, Stihl power tools, an air compressor and small refrigerators.

“Be alert of individuals out at night,” Williford said. “If you see anything suspicious, please give us a call. If there’s nothing to it, there’s no harm done.”

The men charged with the pawn shop burglary are not suspected in vehicle burglaries and a home burglary that occurred on Panola, Boothe and Broadway Streets during the November 7 and 8 weekend, Williford said.

The men charged with the pawn shop burglary are scheduled for an initial appearance in Batesville Municipal Court on November 25.