Stolen Firearms Recovered
Three young men have been arrested in connection with a string of burglaries that occurred in and around the Fairfield area during the month of August.
The following information was obtained from an affidavit submitted to Justice of the Peace, Cinnamon Archibald by County Sheriff’s Investigator and Sheriff Elect, Sergeant Jeremy Shipley.
Jadon Lemarcus Berzat, 18;
Jacob Samuel Murray, 17;
and Zachary Heath Martin, 18,
have all been arrested and charged with two counts of Theft of a Firearm and given a bond of $5,000 per charge.
According to the report, in the early morning of August 5th, Sheriff’s Deputy Anthony Gasaway was dispatched to an address on County Road 111 in reference to a burglary of a vehicle. He made contact with the resident who states that at approximately 5:40 a.m. he walked out of his back door, which is located under a carport, and noticed his cab light was on inside of his truck.
As he got closer to the vehicle, he saw a black, male subject about 5’5 to 5’7, between the ages of 15-17, with a short afro, wearing a royal blue type t-shirt and black basketball type shorts. As the resident gave chase, he heard a vehicle engine and saw a car parked on the roadway, and realized there was more than one person, so he ran back to his truck to retrieve his gun from his console and found that it was missing. The gun is described as a black Berretta, 9mm, with black aftermarket Hogue grips.
According to the report, on August 31, Sergeant Shipley and Deputy Kristy Lawrence interviewed Berzat and Murray due to information ascertained from the investigation into multiple offenses of vehicle break-ins and stolen firearms. Both the Freestone County Sheriff’s Office and Fairfield Police Departments have been working on this case, each receiving the same information.
During the interview, Berzat and Murray admitted to being involved in the theft of the Berretta 9mm handgun from the residence located on CR 111.
They both advised that they, along with Martin, went together in Berzat’s green, short-wheel base, Chevrolet truck to the property on CR 111; and following the theft, to Martin’s home, at which time he gave them $40 for gas. They told officers that they were not involved in any other thefts, and only went with Martin that time because Berzat was in need of gas money.
The affidavit states that later, Sheriff’s Deputies, along with Fairfield Police Investigator Sean Frazier, interviewed Martin regarding his involvement in the matter, to which Martin admitted he did participate in the thefts.
Martin continued by saying that sometime between 11:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m., the three teenagers left in Berzat’s truck from Martin’s home on Robindale Lane in the Thousand Oaks Subdivision and drove to the dead-end on Sunset and parked the truck. At this point, the three walked down the road, Martin in the middle so he could watch for vehicles while Berzat checked for unlocked cars on one side of the road, and Murray checked on the opposite side of the road.
Martin explained to investigators that, after leaving the residential area around Sunset and Forest Lane, the trio had obtained a couple of packs of cigarettes, a can of snuff, one orange and one camo hat, and approximately $40 from all the vehicles they entered.
According to the report, the boys then traveled to LOVE’s Truck Stop to get a drink and to put gas in Berzat’s truck.
After leaving the gas station, the young men reportedly went to the Oak Forest Subdivision and looked through many more vehicles that were left unlocked. Martin advised that Murray took what he thought was an AR-15 from a Chevy truck on Private Road 1285. When a vehicle was spotted coming down the road, Murray either dropped or threw down the gun and they all ran back to Berzat’s truck, headed back into town, and on to County Road 2547, located off of North Hwy 75. Here, they checked many more vehicles but found all were locked.
Next, the three drove down County Road 121 until it turned into County Road 111, did a u-turn at County Road 116, and parked. Martin states that he sat in the driver’s seat and that Berzat and Murray went to the residence on County Road 111 on foot.
The affidavit states that Martin says he actually fell asleep for a moment because he was later awakened by yelling and screaming, followed by Murray and Berzat jumping into the truck, talking about how they had been seen and could have been killed. Martin also advised that Berzat stole a Beretta from said residence.
Martin further explained during the interview that Berzat had given him a Glock 22 .40 caliber handgun; and he took it for about a day before deciding that he didn’t want to have it in his possession, so he took it back to the Berzat property on County Road 360 and threw the gun into a field. He states that the gun would probably still be there because no one knew he threw it out there.
Martin states that he did not know which house and vehicle the Glock came from, but that they found it at the time they were burglarizing vehicles. He told investigators where the gun could be found.
According to the report, Sergeant Shipley, along with Sheriff’s Investigator Clay Aldrich, went to the Berzat residence and was given permission to search the property for stolen firearms, where they found the Glock 22 .40 caliber handgun in the location Martin had described. The gun was photographed and collected as evidence.
This firearm was reported missing from a residence on Greg Street in Fairfield, an area where Martin admitted to have burglarized with Berzat and Murray.
Jadon Lemarcus Berzat was arrested on September 2nd, and bonded out with a surety bond on September 4th.
Zachary Heath Martin was arrested on September 7th, and bonded out with a cash bond on September 9th.
Jacob Samuel Murray was arrested from Fairfield High School on September 1st, and remains in custody at press time with bond set at $5,000 each for both charges.
