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« on: February 07, 2008, 05:36:22 AM »
SPRINGFIELD -- A man who told police he was "very high on meth" early last Saturday is charged for break-ins at three adult novelty stores. A detective says an ex-girlfriend of Daniel Ray recognized him from television news reports and helped them find Ray, who recently was paroled from prison. In the burglaries, a man used a metal pipe to bust in to Victoria’s Palace at 1406 E. Sunshine St., and then used his minivan to push down the door at Cosmic Fish, 1437 S. Glenstone Ave., and Adam & Eve, 1332 E. Republic Road. At each store, he didn't try to steal money or expensive clothes but took sex toys. Ray is charged with three counts of second-degree burglary. He could receive seven-year prison sentences for each crime if he's convicted or pleads guilty. Prosecutors asked a judge to set a $50,000 bond. In a probable cause statement filed with the charges, Detective Kevin Shipley says Tara Simmons, an ex-girlfriend of Ray, recognized him from surveillance camera video. She also told the detective that Ray had called her and admitted he was responsible for the burglaries. Police arrested Ray at his job and also found his minivan, which had damage similar to damage sustained by the burglar's minivan during the break-in at Cosmic Fish. That store had surveillance video that showed what happened outside the store. Shipley says Ray at first denied he is the burglar. After being told that police had video, blood and fingerprints that would connect him to robberies, the detective says Ray admitted what he did. "Ray claimed that at the time of the incident he was very high on meth, which he claimed causes him to do crazy things that involve sex toys and pornographic material and claimed to be 'sick in the head,'" Shipley wrote in the probable cause statement. The detective says Ray "admitted to throwing out some of the items at a park near his residence and several other undown areas throughout the city." Greene County's online court records show Ray has a long history of crimes, including distributing drugs, driving with a revoked license, resisting arrest, tampering with a motor vehicle, and burglary. On the last two charges, he received concurrent 10-year prison sentences in February 2005
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