Five arrested in gun burglary scheme
Dennis Dean Henley
The Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office (PRCSO) was able to catch a suspect with assistance from the community via a Facebook post that went viral in Pearl River County. The suspect, Dennis Dean Henley, age 38, was wanted in relation to a November 20, 2017, theft of 14 guns that occurred in Poplarville on Eddie Harrell Road.
Over a two day span, the PRCSO arrested four suspects who were involved in the scheme and burglaries.
Top row: Jacob Edwin Hariel and Joseph Schmidt
Second row: Alyssa Marie Spiers and Jacob Adam Tillman
Deputies posted Henley’s photo on Facebook and the post was shared over 700 times. Through information gathered, the PRCSO was able to determine that Henley was in the Barth area of Pearl River County. With this data, they attempted a traffic stop just before 7 a.m on Henley, but he drove off endangering numerous citizens with his wreckless driving including two school buses that were on their routes.
Later on Thursday, PRSCO deputies received information that Henley was on Possum Trail Road in the Leetown community in Hancock County. PRCSO and Hancock County deputies pulled over a truck around 11 a.m. and arrested Henley who was hiding behind the seat according to PRCSO Chief Investigator Marc Ogden.
Henley was incarcerated in the Pearl River County jail on 14 counts of possession of a weapon after a felony conviction, one count of conspiracy to commit burglary, one count of residential burglary and one count of eluding authorities.
After further investigation, PRCSO concluded that other items were taken on November 20th including a flat screen TV and cross-bow. After interviewing Jacob Adam Tillman, age 26, and Alyssa Marie Spiers, age 23, about the burglary, deputies learned that Joseph Schmidt, age 26, delivered the TV and cross-bow to Spiers at a shop in Slidell with the intent to pawn the items.
During an interview with Schmidt, he told PRCSO investigators that he was involved in the burglary and he said that Jacob Edwin Hariel, age 27, was involved in the burglary against his father and was the person who schemed the crime.
Schmidt is also being held by authorities on 14 counts of possession of a weapon by a felon, one count of residential burglary and one count of conspiracy to commit burglary. Hariel, Tillman and Spiers are all being held on one count of conspiracy to commit burglary and one count of burglary.
According to Ogden, the bond amounts were set at $10,000 for each weapons charge, $25,000 for each residential burglary charge, $5,000 per conspiracy charge and $10,000 for eluding authorities.
All five suspects are in the Pearl River County jail in Millard.
