V.I. Police Detectives Henry Thomas Jr. and Roselyn Richards were commended this week by Attorney General-designate Iver Stridiron for their work in the successful prosecution of four persons convicted in a recent burglary case.
Defendants Warrington Masham, Samuel Leader, Henry Williams and Thomas Somersall were accused of burglarizing several businesses and agencies, including the V.I. Water and Power Authority, between July 12 and Sept. 8, 1996.
"Without Detectives Thomas and Richards devoting an enormous amount of time and energy on this case, we would not have been able to secure such a successful prosecution," Stridiron said in a statement.
The group allegedly used a blowtorch to melt safes and steal thousands of dollars, and cut telephone lines to disable burglar alarms.
The detectives were led to the suspects by information from a confidential informant. Police eventually searched the homes of the suspects and found the blowtorch and a number of items that had been reported stolen.
Marsham and Leader pleaded guilty soon after and implicated Williams and Somersall.
Marsham, who pleaded guilty to three counts of grand larceny, was eventually sentenced to 27 years in prison for his role as the ringleader of the group.
Leader pleaded guilty to two counts of grand larceny, while Williams and Somersall each pleaded guilty to one count of grand larceny.
