On March 15, at 11:00 a.m., Caldwell Police Street Crimes Unit officers, Nampa Police officers and Probation and Parole officers arrested Michael J. Spence, a 42-year-old transient. He was arrested in the 100 block of Shannon Drive. A citizen reported that Spence was at a hotel in Nampa. They had recognized him from a photo that was released by Caldwell Police department on March 14, as a person of interest in a jewelry theft.
When officers arrived on scene, Spence was arrested without incident. He was located hiding behind a dumpster in the parking lot of the hotel. He was transported to the Nampa Police department to be interviewed by detectives.
On March 14, at 4:52 p.m., a theft of jewelry was reported to Caldwell Police at Norman Jewelers. The suspect in that case was reported to be a white adult male, about 6’1” tall, 230-250 pounds and about 35-45 years-old. He was reported to have a gray goatee and a bald head with a distinctive pentagram tattoo on the back of his head. The male was wearing black jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt. The male stole jewelry and he sprinted out of the store. He got into a red, 4-door sedan and fled the scene.
On March 14, at 6:38 p.m., Nampa Police dispatch received a call for a similar theft of jewelry. This occurred at Tiffany Jewelry, in the 1500 block of Caldwell Blvd. The employees reported that two male subjects came into the store. The first male was described as 40-50 years-old, 5’10”-6’1” tall wearing a dark shirt and dark cap. He was reported to have sleeve tattoos on both arms. The second male was possibly Hispanic, 5’6”, wearing a white shirt and had a skinny build. The males looked at some jewelry and then left. A few minutes later, the larger male with sleeve tattoos came back into the store and inquired about purchasing a necklace with a cross pendant. When the employee began to ring up the sale, the male fled on foot and ran northeast through the parking lot. He got into a dark red or maroon older passenger car and fled the scene. The value of the jewelry that was stolen is approximately 2200.00 dollars.
Due to several tips from the community that were sent to the Caldwell Police department, Spence was identified as a suspect in these jewelry thefts. Spence was charged with two counts of burglary and two counts of grand theft, all felonies, for the crimes in both Caldwell and Nampa.
“This is an example of everyone working together to make our communities safer,” Nampa Police Sgt. Tim Riha said. “It was teamwork between law enforcement agencies and the community that allowed for the main suspect in these cases to be found so quickly,” said Riha.
The investigation is ongoing and more arrests may be made in these cases.