Burglary investigation in Pleasant Hill leads to arrest in multi-county crime spree

PLEASANT HILL, Ill. — A Wilsonville man was taken into custody on June 12 as part of an investigation of a multi-county crime spree that included a burglary in Pike County.

The Pike County Sheriff’s Department responded to an alarm activation at the Jiffi Stop convenience store in Pleasant Hill at approximately 3:55 a.m. on June 9. Upon arrival, deputies discovered that the glass entry door had been shattered, and an unknown suspect had unlawfully entered the premises, stealing an undisclosed amount of merchandise.

Chief Deputy Zack Orr and Sgt. Matt Frazier immediately launched a criminal investigation. 

Investigators analyzed extensive hours of surveillance footage, which Orr coordinated with surrounding law enforcement agencies. Through inter-agency communication, it was determined that two additional burglaries had occurred at separate businesses in Calhoun County. The Jersey County Sheriff’s Department then informed the Pike County Sheriff’s Department had recovered evidence connected to these crimes at a location in Jersey County.

Multiple court-authorized search warrants were then obtained to examine various forms of electronic technology for potential leads and evidence.

Investigative work by Det. Sally Arbuthnot of the Jersey County Sheriff’s Office led to the identification of the suspect vehicle’s owner, with support from the Gillespie Police Department, Orr then successfully identified the person operating the vehicle involved in the burglaries.

Orr obtained a court-authorized search warrant for a residence in Wilsonville in Macoupin County on June 12. At approximately 3:32 p.m., law enforcement officers from the sheriff’s departments in Macoupin County, Calhoun County and Pike County executed the search warrant. During the search, officers recovered items that had been stolen during the burglaries.

As a result of the investigation, Casey W. Sobberi, 40, of Wilsonville was taken into custody. At the time of the offenses, Sobberi was on mandatory supervised release from the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Sobberi was transported to the Pike County Jail and lodged on the following charges:

Calhoun County charges

• Two counts of burglary
• Two counts of theft
• Two counts of criminal damage to property more than $500

Pike County charges

• One count of burglary
• One count of theft
• One count of criminal damage to property more than $500
• One count of unlawful possession of burglary tools

“Do not come to Pike County to commit crimes,” Pike County Sheriff David Greenwood said in a press release. “With the motivated, proactive, well-trained deputies and investigators working under Orr, we will go wherever we need to and do whatever is necessary to bring criminals to justice.”