Class ring leads to burglary suspect
A Maryland State Police trooper tracked down the owner of a 1970 Damascus High School ring being pawned in North Carolina, an investigating that led to the arrest of a man charged with burglaries in several counties and a neighboring state.
Edward A. Morton, 57, of Garrett County, was arrested this week after a two-month investigation that began when a trooper at the McHenry Barrack learned that the suspect was receiving checks totaling more than $10,000 from pawn shops in Maryland, Washington, New York and North Carolina. Police said:
In early March, State Police investigators learned a pawn shop in Charlotte, North Carolina had received a package of jewelry from Morton. The pawn shop owner gave troopers a description of the items, including a 1970 Damascus High School ring.Earlier this month, another class ring helped police in Howard County bust a husband-wife team suspected in a series of burglaries.
With just the graduation year and the initials inside the ring, a State Police investigator called Damascus High School and then made multiple calls to members of the 1970 graduating class. Within days, he had identified the owner of the ring as a woman who lives in Frederick. He contacted her and she confirmed the ring had been stolen along with other items during a recent burglary at her home.
