Arrest for AKRS burglary after multi-state investigation

AUBURN - Rickey Phipps, 21, is charged with burglary in Nemaha County on June 23.
An arrest affidavit says deputies reported a white SUV at a J Street intersection while responding to an alarm at AKRS Equipment Solutions near Highway 75 north of Auburn. Moments later an AKRS supervisor told deputies that security cameras showed a white SUV.
The affidavit says the glass on a front door had been shattered and numerous chainsaws and other power equipment valued at more than $6,000 was missing. Video footage shows a person inside handing equipment through the broken door to another man outside.
A license plate reader near Holton, Kan., took images of a SUV that was linked to a rental car business in Texas. The affidavit said a Texas deputy made contact with the person who rented the SUV.
A Nemaha County deputy interviewed an inmate at a Louisiana prison who identified Rickey Phipps as a man inside the AKRS store.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in Kansas provided body camera footage of a traffic stop involving Phipps.
In other court action, possession and firearm charges are filed against 30-year-old Luciano Espinoza of Blair.
An arrest affidavit says an inventory search was ordered after a Highway 75 traffic stop and arrest on a Lancaster County warrant. The affidavit says a bag contained 1,153 concentrated THC vape cartridges. A duffle bag contained a 9 mm Palmetto handgun. Espinoza is also charged with $3,100 in drug money.