Jeremy is a freelance journalist covering news, sports, health, and local politics. He lives in Phoenix.
By Jeremy Beren / NewsBreak Pinal County, AZ
(Pinal County, Ariz.) — Pinal County Sheriff's Office deputies have detained three suspects accused of facilitating or perpetrating more than 50 burglaries in Arizona's third-largest county over a number of weeks.
Tyler Diviki, Lenton Gray, and Lindsay Proulx have each been booked into the Pinal County Jail in Florence. According to the PCSO, the suspects admitted their involvement in the burglaries as part of a strategy to fund Diviki and Gray's costly drug addictions.
"This is just one example of the day-to-day work our deputies do that often goes unnoticed. I applaud our Deputies for stopping this theft ring," Pinal County Sheriff said in a Facebook post. "I also want to remind residents to continue being diligent about locking your car doors at night. This goes a long way in preventing vehicle burglaries."
These thefts, carried out on homes and unlocked cars, largely took place around San Tan Valley or Mesa in Maricopa County.
PCSO deputies are said to have tracked Diviki through home security cameras around his parents' home. When deputies arrived at Diviki's parents' house on Monday to serve a search warrant, the 26-year-old led deputies on a brief pursuit in a stolen vehicle before he was taken into custody.
Gray and Proulx, aged 25 and 21 respectively, are said to have aided Diviki by selling the recovered bounty online. Some of the stolen items, such as power tools, were found in Gray's home and had not yet been auctioned.
Arizona Department of Public Safety statistics show that in 2020, there were 70 arrests on burglary charges made on suspects over 18 in Pinal County. There were also 40 recorded motor vehicle theft arrests, and nearly 12.5 times as many arrests owing to alleged larceny-theft — 474 total for adult suspects.
Diviki's bond has been set at $50,000 following his apprehension. Gray and Proulx have bonds set at $25,000 apiece owing to their purported roles in the burglary ring.
Jeremy is a freelance journalist covering news, sports, health, and local politics. He lives in Phoenix.
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