Story Submitted
Two burglars were arrested in Lee, on Saturday, Dec. 16 after off-duty Madison County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) Deputy Sheriff Cpl. Edwin McMullen observed a suspicious vehicle.
According to MCSO Maj. Harper, Cpl. McMullen observed a vehicle parked in the ditch on US Hwy. 90, in Lee, with the headlights off. The vehicle then drove across the highway to park in another ditch. McMullen pulled behind the vehicle in his personal vehicle while calling Madison County Communications Center to advise of his location and that he would be investigating a suspicious vehicle.
Cpl. McMullen made contact with the sole female occupant of the vehicle, who identified herself as Tiffany Langford. Cpl. McMullen identified himself as a Law Enforcement Officer and Langford expressed that she was trying to take photographs of the fire truck that was riding Santa around in the community. Cpl. McMullen then told Langford about the recent burglaries in the community and told her to be careful. Cpl. McMullen returned to his vehicle and moved to a location where he could continue to watch the suspicious vehicle.
After several minutes, Cpl. McMullen observed Langford drive back across US Hwy. 90, with the headlights off, onto Demotsis Loop, before stopping in the ditch again. As Cpl. McMullen maintained surveillance, Langford pulled into the yard of a residence. Cpl. McMullen requested on-duty deputies to respond to his location as he approached the vehicle.
As Cpl. McMullen pulled-in behind Langford's vehicle, he saw a white male, identified as Michael Scott Martin, run out of the woods, to Langford's vehicle. Cpl. McMullen was able to catch Martin and place him in wrist restraints.
Martin told Cpl. McMullen that he and Langford had been arguing, so he got out of the vehicle and was waiting on Langford to return and pick him up.
During a search, Cpl. McMullen found several pieces of jewelry and collectable coins, along with tools that are commonly used to commit burglaries, in Martins' coat pockets. MCSO Deputies Ben Pike and Sgt. Jeff Rosenberg arrived at the scene and began an investigation. Deputies were able to locate a gold watch in the woods where Martin had run from. Homeowners arrived and confirmed that their residence had been burglarized. The victims were able to identify all the items that deputies recovered from Martin. Michael Scott Martin and Tiffany Danielle Langford-Henderson were arrested and charged with armed burglary, criminal conspiracy, grand theft, possession of burglary tools, armed trespassing and loitering/prowling.
Michael Scott Martin was released on a $6,000 bond and Tiffany Danielle Langford-Henderson was released on $5,000. Continue to be aware of your surroundings and always remember to lock your vehicles, doors and windows.
The owner of the home burglarized would like to thank Cpl. McMullen, his wife and MCSO for their fast-acting work in getting their property safely secured.