Three men were arrested last week for stealing weapons from vehicles belong to the Springfield Police and a Menard County law enforcement agency.
WAND-TV in Decatur reports that the case all started with Macon County Sheriff’s Deputies receiving a call about stolen Air pods and a firearm. Decatur Police served a search warrant at a home in Cerro Gordo on August 26th for the items. Inside the home, officers found a Macon County Sheriff’s office Remington shotgun and body armor as well as several stolen items from the Decatur area. Officers say 19 year old Blaine Manks of Decatur was living there, but fled when police arrived at the scene.
Manks was finally tracked down on August 30th at an apartment complex in Sullivan. Deputies also found 20 year old Parker Wallace of Atwood and three more stolen guns in the apartment in Sullivan. During questioning, Wallace told detectives he and Manks were behind several car burglaries. Deputies also tracked down and arrested a third man, 20 year old Cameron Edwards at the same home in Cerro Gordo where Manks had been staying. Edwards attempted to flee from officers at the time of his arrest but was able to be subdued, according to a separate report by WICS.
During a search of the Cerro Gordo home, detectives found a false wall where two AR-15s were hidden. The AR-15s were traced to police vehicles from Springfield and Menard County. Edwards later admitted to being involved in 30 car thefts with Manks – all targeting police cars. The burglaries allegedly date back to May.
Wallace’s bond was set at $20,000. He posted bond and was released last Wednesday. Edwards’s bond was set at $180,000. He was released on Friday after posting bail. Manks remains in the Macon County Jail with a $390,000 bond.