Couple charged in multi-county burglary spree

By Heather Harris
Register News Writer

September 05, 2008 10:59 pm

— An Irvine couple, in love and against the law, may be responsible for as many as 18 burglaries in at least five Kentucky counties, police say.
Kimberly Samples and Donald McIntosh were arrested Thursday by the Kentucky State Police after an investigation uncovered evidence that the suspects had staked out potential “targets” in Madison, Estill, Clark, Rockcastle and Montgomery counties throughout the month of August, Trooper Chris Lanham said.
“They are girlfriend and boyfriend and basically she would drive him around, let him out of the car when he found what looked to be a good potential target and wait for him while he burglarized them,” Lanham said. “Samples was McIntosh’s get-a-way driver.”
One such burglary that is being linked to the couple took place Aug. 24 at Silver Creek Baptist Church’s parsonage located at 1720 Big Hill Road in Berea.
“The pastor and his family went to church that Sunday, leaving about 5:50 p.m.,” said Capt. Ken Clark of the Berea Police Department. “When the family arrived back after the sermon, around 6:55 p.m., their house had already been ransacked.”
Clark said that approximately $7,710 of the family’s belongings were taken during their one-hour absence.
“They stole around $3,500 worth of jewelry and a lot of household goods such as televisions, DVDs, things of that nature,” Clark said.
Detectives from KSP and BPD are still working the investigation into this and other cases.
“They are definitely suspects in that burglary,” Lanham said. “We think there are multiple cases throughout a wide area.”
McIntosh is lodged in the Madison County Detention Center on three counts of second-degree burglary in lieu of $10,000 bond.
Samples, who originally was charged with one count of complicity to commit burglary, has bonded out of jail on that charge.
“The charges against Samples could change and there will probably be additional charges on both,” Lanham said.

Heather Harris can be reached at hharris@richmondregister.com or by phone at 624-6694 or 893-2341.