Breckenridge Texan

A Stephens County man was arrested and convicted of a home burglary after some detective work by a local deputy, who discovered an upholstery tack that helped crack the case.

Adam Reeve, 39, confessed to the burglary and was sentenced to a 30-year prison sentence. He was transported to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison earlier this month. From the date the crime was reported to the date he was taken to prison, the case was wrapped up within 90 days.

On Aug. 13, the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call regarding the burglary of a house on Lowe Avenue, just outside the southeast city limits of Breckenridge. Deputy Wayne McMullen took the initial report, and while investigating the crime scene, he found shoe prints that were fresh enough and in the right location to be consistent with those of the person who burglarized the home. At the time, there were no leads for a specific suspect.

A couple of weeks later, on Aug. 30, Deputy Bill Flournoy arrested Adam Reeve in relation to probation violations for a past theft committed against a local church. He was arrested at a house within walking distance of the burglary on Lowe Avenue. Reeve is known to commit thefts and burglaries on the east side of Breckenridge and just outside its city limits in the same geographic region as the Aug. 13 burglary, according to Sheriff Will Holt.

Upon learning that Reeve had been arrested, McMullen compared the soles of the shoes Reeve was wearing at the time he was booked into jail to the shoe prints left at the crime scene. He was able to positively match the shoe prints and shoe size left at the crime scene to that of Reeve’s shoes.

Specifically and distinctively, Reeve had an upholstery tack stuck in the bottom of one of his shoes at the jail. The placement of the tack resulted in a precise mark left in the shoe prints. Everywhere Reeve stepped, the tack left a unique impression, in addition to the matching sole imprints. By comparing Reeve’s shoes to the photographs of the suspect’s shoe imprints at the crime scene, McMullen saw that they matched.

Chief Deputy Kevin Roach and McMullen interviewed Reeve about the crime and the evidence gathered, and he admitted to committing the home burglary. On Oct. 11, Reeve was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the Lowe Avenue burglary, and on Nov. 12 he was transported from the Stephens County Jail to the TDCJ unit to serve his sentence.

“This type of evidence is an anomaly that is not always present at every crime scene, and it could have easily been overlooked, but Deputy McMullen did not miss it,” Holt said in a media release. “This was outstanding teamwork, criminal intelligence communication, and detective work on the part of the aforementioned deputies.

“Additionally, the speed at which the District Attorney’s Office was able to get a conviction and lengthy sentence on Reeve is much appreciated,” Holt continued. “For a suspect to be convicted and transported to prison within three months of committing a crime is a tremendous benefit for the community and a major win for the prosecutors and law enforcers involved. (I am) proud of the team effort by the SCSO and 90th District Attorney Dee Peavy’s office.”