Sheriff's investigators Terry McCreight and Chris Gorman check the contents of the Camaro driven by Ditto after he was stopped Sunday in Dyersburg.

A rural Dyersburg woman on Sunday interrupted a burglary in progress at her McCulloch's Chapel Road home that led sheriff's investigators to the arrest of two people in connection with a rash of thefts in the county.

Lodged in the Dyer County Jail on aggravated burglary charges is Ashley Tate, 20, of 16 Dyer Hwy, Yorkville. Suspect Logan Ditto, 16, 220 First St., is being held in The McDowell Center for Children on aggravated burglary charges.

Investigators on Monday issued an arrest warrant for Mark Anthony Ditto, 17, as a suspect in the theft. The Dittos are brothers.

Mark Ditto

Logan Ditto is placed into the back of a Dyer County Sheriff's Department patrol car. [Click to enlarge]

According to the Dyer County Sheriff's Department report, Andrea Milton, 21, arrived at her former stepfather's residence at 1555 McCulloch's Chapel Rd. at about 9:15 p.m. Sunday and saw a green Chevrolet Camaro parked in the driveway. She also noticed several interior lights were on in the house and saw a man walk past the window in a bedroom before exiting the rear of the house.

A man described at six feet tall, curly brown hair, blue jeans and a white long-sleeve T-shirt approached the Milton's car and said he was looking for someone. Milton cracked her window a few inches and told him no one by the name lived there as she backed out of the driveway, the report said.

Milton drove away from the house towards Resthome Road as the man drove the Camaro toward Jamestown-Jenkinsville Road. The report said Milton waited until the Camaro's taillights were out of sight before turning around to catch up to the vehicle to read its license plate.

Milton told investigators as she caught up to the Camaro, the driver hit the brakes and put the car in reverse, forcing her nearly into a ditch. The report said the driver jumped out of the Camaro and walked back to Milton. When he got close enough to put enough space between her car and the Camaro, she put her car into drive and took off to the Dyer County Sheriff's Department, where she ran into the lobby to report the incident.

Ashley Tate hides her head while in custody. [Click to enlarge]

According to the report, the owner of the house, Robert Reed, told investigators after searching the residence he discovered two .22-caliber rifles were missing.

A broadcast alert for the Camaro was sent to neighboring counties. Since the license plate was tagged in Gibson County, investigators in Dyer and Yorkville found a family member of Tate's, who said at 10:30 p.m. Tate had left with Ditto earlier in the day in her 1996 green Camaro.

At 10:55 p.m., deputies made a traffic stop on the Camaro in front of the State Gazette newspaper office at 294 U.S. Highway 51 Bypass. Investigators detained and separated Ditto and Tate. A search of the Camaro found several items of questionable ownership.

At 2:22 a.m. Monday, Tate led investigators to an abandoned house in Evansville, where Reed's guns were recovered. Investigators also looked for missing money in the 500 block of Beaver Creek Cove in the Lake Luana subdivision, the report said.

The pair are suspects in the rash of gun thefts over the weekend that occurred in the Good Hope subdivision, Bishop Road and Village Street. In several instances, witnesses or victims reported hearing a loud motor running at or near the time of the thefts. When Chief Investigator Terry McCreight started the Camaro after it was stopped on Sunday, the dual-exhaust motor growled to life.

Ditto is scheduled for a transfer hearing on Tuesday to determine if he is to be tried as an adult. The teenager has a record of prior criminal acts ranging from theft as a nine-year-old to an October 2005 methamphetamine case.

Tate also is scheduled for a court hearing on Tuesday.

The Camaro was impounded by investigators for its use in the crime.

The investigation is continuing, said McCreight.