10/17/2009

Salina Police said Saturday that one person has been arrested in connection with a series of vehicle burglaries using a dealer code to enter Ford vehicles equipped with keypad entry systems.

Juliette Jean Cox, 32, 1661 W. Republic, Lot 73, was booked into the Saline County Jail on Friday night and was released on bond Saturday afternoon, jail records show.

Deputy Police Chief Carson Mansfield confirmed that Cox’s arrest stemmed from the Ford vehicle keypad investigation. Some merchandise allegedly taken in the burglaries was recovered, he said.

Cox was booked on charges that include six counts of burglary, and each of those is for a separate vehicle, Mansfield said.

Cox is also facing charges that include possession of stolen property, theft, and criminal use of a financial card.

The thefts from Ford vehicles were reported to police starting in July. Salina police think a dealer code once programmed into all vehicles sold by Long McArthur Ford, 3450 S. Ninth, was used by someone who has burglarized at least 15 vehicles in Salina equipped with keypad entry systems. Long McArthur stopped using the dealer code about six months before the thefts began being reported.