FROM STAFF REPORTS 

The Helena Police Department on July 31 arrested three Bessemer men allegedly tied to several burglaries and thefts in Shelby and Jefferson counties.

Police arrested 22-year-old Sylvester Simpson Thomas and 18-year-old Jamarcus Keontae McKinney and charged them each with counts of third-degree burglary and first-degree theft of property. Police also arrested a 17-year-old suspect, but withheld the suspect’s name because he was a juvenile.

The arrests came after police received a call at about 1 p.m. on July 31 reporting a possible residential burglary in progress in the Silverlakes subdivision.

“Moments later, officers located the suspect vehicle at the intersection of Morgan Road and Aviation Road. After being identified by witnesses, three suspects were taken in to custody,” read a Helena Police Department press release.

Police said they discovered all of the items reported missing from the Silverlakes burglary in the suspects’ car, along with other allegedly stolen items, according to the release.

Officers said they suspected the suspects had been involved in other thefts and burglaries throughout the Birmingham metropolitan area.

As of Aug. 1, Thomas and McKinney were being held in the Jefferson County Jail on $45,000 bonds each.