Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 8, 1993 TAG: 9312080172
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Deborah Alethea Stanley, 30, was indicted Monday by a city grand jury on 36 charges of breaking and entering, grand larceny and petty larceny, according to Chief Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Betty Jo Anthony.
Authorities say Stanley, of Dona Drive Northwest, is accused of burglarizing homes and churches in her neighborhood, usually during the day.
Stolen appliances and other items often were loaded into trash containers taken from the house and wheeled out to the street, sometimes in plain view of neighbors.
Police said several residents told investigators they recalled being puzzled after seeing a woman take items out of the houses, but did not suspect burglary in broad daylight.
On one occasion, police said, a woman was seen pushing a television and a videocassette recorder in a wheelbarrow with a flat tire.
Although residents did not report initial sightings of the burglar, police said help from the neighborhood eventually led to the suspect's identification and arrest.
The break-ins happened from Sept. 23 to Oct. 24, with as many as four in a single day, according to the indictments.
For the past month, Stanley has been in the Roanoke City Jail on charges of violating her probation from an earlier robbery charge.
In addition to burglarizing homes, Stanley is accused of breaking into Fairview United Methodist Church, Washington Heights Grace Brethren Church and Connelly Memorial Baptist Church.
Harry M. Bowles, one of the burglary victims, said he returned home from an overnight visit in September to find his back door broken open and glass on the doorstep.
Fearing the worst, he found that thieves had taken some items, but "at least they didn't trash the place," he said.
Although Stanley is in custody, Bowles has yet to see his stolen property and wonders if he ever will.
"They took my VCR, my TV, my rifle and even my telephone - I'm talking on my new one now," Bowles said Tuesday.
". . . And they took my sense of security; that was the biggest thing they took."
by CNB