News updates are sent daily. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Arrest in Chandler break-in could solve 100s of cases
Digg|
Save|
License|
Print|
E-mail|
Kim Johnson and David Kosisky
For 10 months, a surveillance video of a burglar breaking into a business has aired over and over on “Chandler’s Most Wanted,” a show on the city’s public access television station.
Read more crime news in Cop Shop Blog
Recently, it caught the eye of a viewer.
For Chandler police, an anonymous tip from that viewer was a break in a series of cases they had been investigating since March 2005. And for Valley agencies that include Gilbert, Mesa, Phoenix and Scottsdale, it could mean the clearance of more than 100 cases, said Chandler police spokesman Sgt. Rick Griner.
The break-ins are believed to be the work of two men dubbed “The Wall/Safe Burglars,” because they would get into stores and restaurants by tunneling through walls from neighboring businesses and going through roofs to take cash from safes.
Total property loss and damage has exceeded $500,000, Griner said.
The tipster on Monday gave police the names of two men: Kim Johnson, 53, of Phoenix and David Kosisky, 48, of Tempe.
Eight Chandler detectives began to watch every move of Johnson and Kosisky.
Early Thursday morning, the detectives followed the two men to a strip mall at 9053 E. Baseline Road, near Ellsworth Road, in Mesa.
There, police said, they spotted Johnson with burglary tools attempting to break into Uncle Bear’s Grill & Bar while Kosisky sat in the getaway car. They were apprehended about 3:30 a.m.
Mesa, Gilbert and Tempe police officials said Thursday they are now trying to determine if the men are indeed responsible for similar burglaries in their cities.
“Chandler did an outstanding job with the information they were provided,” Tempe police spokesman Sgt. Mike Horn said.
The two men were booked into Maricopa County’s Fourth Avenue Jail in Phoenix on suspicion of burglary, and were set to make their initial appearances in the county’s Superior Court on Thursday night.
Kosisky was being held on one count of third-degree burglary and warrants for dangerous drug and drug paraphernalia violations. Information about Johnson wasn’t available through the jail.
Please add your comments, but follow these guidelines to keep this a safe, credible place for discussing the news: