2 arrested in fishing, archery equipment burglary

Columbia County Sheriff's Office booking photos of Ira and Brandi Thompson

COLUMBIA COUNTY, Fla. – Two Baker County residents were arrested Monday by Columbia County Sheriff's Office detectives on charges of burglary.

Green's Marine, a Columbia County business, was burglarized during the overnight hours of April 15.

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Deputies said Ira Thompson, 39, and Brandi Thompson, 33, both of Macclenny, stole fishing and archery equipment and were captured on surveillance video.

The Columbia County Sheriff's Office posted the pictures of the two suspects on the agency's Facebook page and also disseminated the pictures to its media partners.

Since the posting, information and tips were collected from concerned citizens, and the information led to the identification of the two suspects, deputies said.

Columbia County detectives were en route to Macclenny on Monday to locate the suspects, but before they arrived, the suspects walked into the Columbia County Sheriff's Office wishing to speak with detectives.

The two were interviewed by detectives and admitted to burglarizing Green's Marine, deputies said. Detectives sought and received a search warrant for the Thompsons' home in Macclenny, and with assistance from the Baker County Sheriff's Office, several of the items stolen from Green's Marine were located, deputies said.

The Baker County Sheriff's Office also discovered items in the Thompsons' home that were stolen during residential burglaries in their county, deputies said.

The Thompson's provided additional information to detectives that led investigators to a hunting camp in Charlton County, Ga., where investigators were able to recover stolen archery equipment from Green's Marine, deputies said.

In addition, a stolen four wheeler and seven firearms were discovered and may belong to victims in Baker County, deputies said.

The Thompsons were arrested and booked into the Columbia County Detention Facility on the Columbia County charges. They are also facing criminal charges in Baker County and Charlton counties.