An investigation that started with the theft of a purse from an elderly lady ended with a string of burglary cases being tied to three Collinsville residents.

In what Collinsville Police Department Detective Chris Warren called a story of drug addiction and stealing to support the habit, Tiree Fox, 24, Kacey Rivoire, 21, and Robert Sumner, 41, were all charged recently with multiple felony counts stemming from the purse snatching, four car and multiple home burglaries.

The recent run of successful burglaries for the troubled trio began to unravel after a 75-year-old lady was approached for help on July 27 while on Juda Drive. Rivoire and Fox were charged with swiping the elderly lady’s purse when she sat it down to allow one of the pair to use her phone.

The crime was originally thought to have been carried out by Fox and a child, but it was later determined that Fox, who stands 4-foot 10-inches tall and weighs 90 pounds, was mistaken for a child. Fox was identified as a perpetrator of the crime and police soon identified Rivoire as an associate and possible suspect.

Police were in the process of investigating four car burglaries in the S. Chestnut, S. Aurora and Mill Street area on July 24 when the purse snatching occurred. Every car burglarized was unlocked.

“If there is one lesson I hope people take from this, it is to lock their cars and don’t leave valuables in sight,” Warren said.

Patrol officers at the crime scenes did a great job of taking the car burglary reports, Warren said. The officers’ diligence allowed Warren to confirm details during the investigation of Fox and Rivoire that helped lead to charges being filed.

Among the items taken from the cars were checkbooks. The Collinsville Police Department, already looking for Fox and Rivoire in the purse-snatching incident, were then able to tie them to the car burglaries through video surveillance, signatures and thumb prints taken at a local bank when the pair cashed stolen checks.

While police were investigating Fox and Rivoire, the duo were allegedly continuing their crime spree, burglarizing a home in the 1200 block of Woodbridge the day after the elderly lady’s purse was taken. Police allege Sumner was called to give Rivoire and Fox a ride from the scene of the crime and that he later profited from items taken in the incident. Fox and Rivoire were tied to the home burglary by surveillance footage from a business in the area.

U.S. Marshalls went to Sumner’s home, in the 100 block of E. Madison, on Sept. 19 armed with an arrest warrant for Rivoire, who was living with Sumner. When officers entered the residence, Rivorie was not present, but there was visible evidence from other burglaries. The officers halted the search until a warrant was obtained to search the property.

During the search, police found a significant amount of heroin, believed to be for personal use, and proceeds from the car burglaries. They also found evidence from previously reported but unsolved residential burglaries.

Rivoire was arrested by the Fairmont City Police Department on Sept. 22 at the Rural King on Collinsville Road. She pleaded guilty to felony burglary on Oct. 11 and was sentenced to three years in prison.

Fox was initially arrested on Sept. 2 in uptown Collinsville. She pleaded guilty to felony possession of a controlled substance – from a separate incident— and felony forgery on Sept. 17 and was sentenced to 24 months of probation and ordered to pay $1,456 in fees. Fox has a court date on Nov. 27 for felony residential burglary charges.

Sumner had three pending felony charges against him when he was arrested on Sept. 16, so bail was revoked. He pleaded guilty to felony home repair fraud – from a separate incident – and felony residential burglary on Nov. 1 and was sentenced to four years in prison.

Great work by the patrol division was instrumental in solving the cases, Warren said. “I couldn’t have done this, there is no way, without these guys,” Warren said. “I’ve worked at other departments and they are not all as dedicated to their job as they are here.”