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APD heats up following spate of local burglaries By Myles Murphy Ashland Daily Tidings Another string of burglaries over the weekend has Ashland police stepping up efforts to find the culprits - and one arrest has been made as a result. "We had two detectives working overtime this weekend on both Saturday and Sunday due to the rash of burglaries over the past several months," APD Lt. Rich Walsh said this morning. "We have made one arrest." Ashland resident Thomas Drummond, 18, was arrested Sunday charges stemming from the Friday burglary of the Breadboard restaurant on the 700 block of North Main Street. Drummond was charged with second-degree burglary and lodged in Jackson County Jail. Three other burglaries or attempted burglaries were reported Saturday morning, but Walsh could neither link nor discount Drummond on the additional cases because police are still investigating them. At 5:55 a.m. Saturday, there were break-ins at The Bi-Mor gas station on the 300 block of Lithia way and a business on the 200 block of North Main Street. A third attempted burglary was reported at the Varsity Theater. Including Friday's Breadboard burglary, a total of $650 was taken during the crime spree, with total damage estimated at $1,250. The number of burglaries is much higher for this time of year than in recent years according to APD Crime Analyst Linda Hoggett. Hoggett - who tracks crime statistics in the city, reported that there were 33 burglaries of Ashland businesses from October through December in 2002, compared to 19 in the same period in 2001. "We still believe there are others out there doing these burglaries," Walsh said. Many of the break-ins are clustered around the downtown area, with others scattered about the city. Often multiple break-ins occur in the same night, with thieves breaking in to one business from the outside, then busting through interior walls to adjacent offices or stores. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -