Nor could the Rolex watch belonging to her husband George’s father, commemorating his 30 years in the concrete industry.
Because their lost treasures held mostly sentimental value, the Oakwood couple consider themselves among the “luckier” victims of alleged serial burglar Sean Upchurch. He is accused of stealing some $500,000 worth of items in a crime spree spanning five jurisdictions and affecting nearly 40 households from Miamisburg to Clayton. Oakwood and Kettering were hardest hit, with 12 cases in Kettering and 15 in Oakwood.
It’s unlike anything encountered previously in the careers of the lead investigators, Capt. Alan Hill of the Oakwood Police Department and Detective Vince Mason of the Kettering Police Department. “This guy traumatized the lives of 13 families in Kettering, and they’re scared it will happen again,” Mason said.
“I get up and go to work every day, and he got up and went to work every day,” Hill observed. “He made a career of burglarizing victims, not only in Oakwood, but in all of Montgomery County, and he did it almost every day.”
Both officers noticed an uptick in burglaries beginning last November; Oakwood recorded only 14 burglaries in 2009, but 32 in 2010. It was a matching shoeprint that made them realize they might be looking at the same suspect. “At first I worried it would be a cop shoe and I would look like an idiot,” Mason said.
It wasn’t, and the two officers sensed they might be onto something. “We were sharing information on the Internet, and it worked out great,” Mason said.
Hill said police are exploring the possibility of “an unindicted co-conspirator,” but they have no evidence of anyone other than Upchurch committing the actual burglaries.
“Upchurch was supporting a very expensive heroin habit; he was making money the only way he knows how,” Mason said. “He should have found a better way.”
Since Upchurch’s arrest on Easter Sunday, the Klings have recovered a third of their stolen property, including the old-fashioned pocket watches belonging to his father and grandfather.
“You don’t realize how much these things mean to you, until they’re gone,” George said. “Then it’s a piece of your history that’s missing.”
Both watches were damaged, but he believes they can be repaired.
Their sense of security might be harder to restore. “I don’t feel less safe, but I do feel violated, that an ill-intentioned stranger could walk in through my back door,” Evie confessed.
She’s also resentful that the thief interrupted the passing of family heirlooms from one generation to the next: “He values something so little that he can discard it, when you value it so highly because it belonged to your parents or grandparents. I’m the custodian for these things, and I want to pass them on to my grandchildren.”
Genealogy is Evie’s passion, and it shows in the sense of place, of family history, that suffuses the Kling household. Twin portraits of her great-great-grandparents, 19th-century clockmaker George Ford and his wife Mary Ann, grace the living room walls — directly across from a grandfather clock crafted by his own hand.
The portraits were passed down through the generations, but George scouted out the clock as a surprise for Evie. Someday, they hope their young grandchildren — 3-year-old Reed Archdeacon and her brother Beckett, 2 — will revere them as much as they do.
“My little grandson doesn’t care right now about my grandfather’s pocket watch, but when he’s my age, he’ll think it’s pretty cool,” said George, 62.
Police said the burglar almost invariably used the same modus operandi: striking around twilight and targeting homes with no lights on. He would steal the victims’ pillowcases and stuff them with silver, gold and jewelry.
According to police reports, the burglar typically rang the doorbell, and, if he didn’t get an answer, he would kick open a back door. That happened to 88-year-old Ralph Richter of Oakwood, who happened to be home at the time. “I heard footsteps, and when I shouted out he beat it out of the house,” he said. “I was in the second World War, and I don’t scare easy.”
Nonetheless, Richter said, “I’m glad they caught him, and I hope he stays in jail for a long time.”
A 34-year-old Kettering woman, napping on her couch, had a similar experience April 12, when she caught a glimpse of the burglar through her screen door. She hurriedly took down the first letter and last four numbers of his license plate. A national database search eventually led the detectives to Upchurch — the first big break in the case. Upchurch, 40, of Dayton has an extensive criminal record, beginning in 1992 when he was placed on probation for burglary. He subsequently spent more than five years in prison on possession of drugs and burglary. He was frequently incarcerated at the Montgomery County Jail on charges ranging from traffic offenses to drug possession.
Oakwood stepped up unmarked patrols and got the word out to residents. “We got good information from citizens,” Hill said. “Our residents aren’t used to it, and they were very aware of what’s going on. We knew we were being targeted.”
Neighbors spotted the suspect fleeing from an East Schantz Avenue home on Easter Sunday, and Upchurch was apprehended on Irving Avenue a short time later. He’s now facing 55 felony charges, including 37 counts of burglary, six counts of being a felon in possession of a weapon, four counts of possessing criminal tools, and four counts of receiving stolen property. Upchurch also has been charged with aggravated theft of more than $100,000 as well as one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a first-degree felony which could be punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Two of the burglary cases had firearms specifications, which automatically add three years to any sentence.
“It just shows you that one person is capable of causing a significant amount of damage when he sets his mind to it,” Hill said.
It wasn’t until the officers executed a search warrant on a Harrison Twp. storage locker — five feet wide by 10 feet deep — that they realized the full extent of the crime spree. “As soon as the door opened it was like finding a gold mine,” Mason recalled. “There was pillow case after pillow case and some 5,000 to 6,000 pieces of costume jewelry.”
The more expensive items had mostly been sold to various pawn shops, but Mason said it was gratifying to return treasured items to victims. One woman came up to him, shaking with emotion, and said, “See this little brooch? My grandmother gave this to me when I was a little kid.”
Mason said that Upchurch “turned color and started shaking” when investigators told him them had found his storage locker. “I don’t think he felt bad for any of his victims,” Mason said. “He felt bad that he was caught.”
Neither Upchurch nor his attorney, John M. Scott, could be reached for comment.
Hill said the charges resulted from old-fashioned networking among police departments. “We started talking about it and it was clearly evident we were all dealing with the same person.”
Hill called it the biggest property crimes case in his career.
“As detectives, we’re always looking to find our guy,” he said. “What’s unique about this case is that he turned out to be everybody’s guy.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2209 or mmccarty@Dayton
DailyNews.com.
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