Man pleads guilty to 2 burglaries

A Holts Summit man has pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree burglary in connection with break-ins that occurred in Cole County in January 2012.

Cheswick Cheatham, 31, is believed to have been involved in break-ins in the 3800 block of North Teal Bottom Road, near Osage Bend, and in the 100 block of Hidden Valley Road, near Henley. The two homes are about 13 miles apart, over two-lane roads.

He had been charged with two counts of first-degree burglary.

The probable cause statement in Cheatham"s case began with a Jan. 10 burglary in the 8300 block of Tanner Bridge Road, where some checks had been stolen.

The checks were reported as being cashed at various businesses and authorities eventually traced those cashing the checks to the Evergreen Condo Apartments on Route AA, just northeast of Holts Summit, where the property manager said she had seen Cheswick Cheatham and another man carry two televisions from a van into their neighboring apartments.

Cheswick agreed to let a deputy check the residence, leading to the discovery of a 32-inch flat-screen TV in a closet that "matched the description" from one of the burglaries.

Cheatham gave conflicting stories about finding the television, and said it "didn't even work."

"When asked to plug it in," Cheatham requested a lawyer and said he had "nothing else to say."

With a warrant, the apartment was searched more thoroughly, turning up three guns and "numerous pieces of property with the serial numbers removed."