Pike County Burglary Puts Man On the Run

By Benjamin Cox on September 17, 2019 at 3:53pm

A series of burglary and theft arrests in Pike County has placed one Quincy man on the run from police. On August 29th, 2019 at 10:54 A.M., the Pike County Sheriff’s Department responded to a complaint of a burglary and theft at an address on US Highway 54 in Rockport in Pike County. Upon the Deputy’s arrival at the scene, it was reported that over $10,000.00 worth of tools had been stolen during the burglary. The victims indicated they had surveillance video of the burglary and theft. After reviewing surveillance video and conducting countless interviews with others, the Pike County Sheriff’s Department was able to identify one person in the video.

With the cooperation of the Pike County State’s Attorney’s Office, an arrest warrant was issued for Jaime M. Kessler, age 34, of Quincy, Illinois for the offenses of burglary and theft. On September 9th at approx. 6:55 P.M., officers from the Pittsfield Police Department and Pike County Sheriff’s Department conducted a traffic stop in Pittsfield and Kessler was subsequently taken into custody on the arrest warrant without incident. He is currently being lodged at the Pike County Jail.

Kessler

The Pike County Sheriff’s Department was able to obtain surveillance video from a business in Louisiana, Missouri where the subjects stopped shortly after the burglary in Rockport occurred and additional arrest warrants were issued for Michael J. Smith, age 41, and Christopher A. Smith, age 37, both of Quincy. On September 11th, 2019, the Pike County Sheriff’s Department with the assistance of the West Central Illinois Task Force was able to locate several witnesses regarding this investigation. Witness interviews were conducted which led to the recovery of a majority of the tools stolen during the burglary. The investigation also led to the discovery of tools stolen from a burglary in Adams County.

Christopher J. Smith

The West Central Illinois Task Force was able to locate Christopher Smith in Quincy last Wednesday and extradited him back to the Pike County Jail where he is currently being held. Michael J. Smith is currently still at large in connection to the incident. If you know the whereabouts of Michael J. Smith please contact Pike County Crimestoppers at (217) 285-1500 or the Quincy Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at (217) 228-4474 or you can submit a tip by going to www.quincycrimestoppers.com.