By Michael Bushnell and Paul Thompson

Northeast News

DeAndre Buchanan, the notorious Historic Northeast burglar released from custody in late June following a May 12 arrest, has once again been apprehended by the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department.

KCPD’s new East Patrol Impact Squad – a dedicated team tasked with addressing violent crime – tracked Buchanan down at Hope Faith Ministries (708 Virginia) on Friday, August 3. East Patrol’s Sgt. Terry Owens credited the arrest to the legwork of Center Zone’s Impact Squad, and particularly Officer Darrin King, who cultivated a security guard source at Hope Faith Ministries as the department scrambled to get Buchanan back into custody. Though King was off work when the tip came in, he passed the intelligence along to East Patrol’s Impact Squad, who rushed over to Hope Faith Ministries to apprehend Buchanan.

The serial burglar initially drew the attention of authorities this spring, after committing a string of burglaries in the Historic Northeast. Police had connected Buchanan to a rash of burglaries committed on May 8 and May 9, and further suspected his involvement in at least a portion of the 18 forced-entry burglaries that occurred in the Northeast between March 26 and April 20.

When Buchanan was apprehended on May 12, former East Patrol Major Jim Thomas lauded the arrest, calling it the combined result of investigative work and neighborhood involvement. But by late June, Buchanan had been offered a priority release and placed on conditional house arrest. East Patrol officers were quickly notified of the burglar’s release, and issued a warrant on additional charges for Buchanan by July 3.

At the time, East Patrol Captain Ryan Mills expressed frustration that a serial burglar like Buchanan, a known threat to the public, was released, especially with the police department preparing additional charges.

“We stressed to prosecutors that this individual was a threat to the community and needed to be held until we could charge him,” said Mills, who worked diligently to have Buchanan held until at least July 12th. “I’m not sure where the breakdown was, but we’ve got officers in both East Patrol and Center Patrol actively looking for him to get him back into custody.”

The August 3 arrest followed a much more frustrating day of surveillance on Thursday, August 2. Owens confided that East Patrol and Central Patrol personnel had received another tip on that day, which led them to spend several hours staking out a bicycle near St. John and Belmont that had been connected to Buchanan.

“He never came back for it,” Owens said. “We had confirmed sightings for him yesterday from both undercover officers and civilians. So it was super frustrating.”

The dogged pursuit paid off a day later, when officers managed to apprehend both Buchanan and his girlfriend, Taylor Murrell. According to Owens, Murrell attempted to interfere in Buchanan’s arrest, leading to her own arrest on charges of Hindering an Arrest of Another.

“When the officers went to go arrest him, his girlfriend tried to interfere and basically put herself between the officers and Buchanan,” Owens said. “She had felony counts pending against her, as well.”

After bringing Murrell into custody, KCPD found out that she had been issued a Jackson County warrant for Trafficking Identities, accompanied with a $25,000 cash-only bond. Murrell also has an  outstanding warrant for Failure to Appear, with a $5,000 cash-only bond. In addition, both Buchanan and Murrell were in possession of credit cards that did not belong to them when apprehended.

The arrest was a long time coming for East Patrol officers, who had been pursuing Buchanan for over a month.

“We had heard rumors that he had left with his girlfriend, but I just had this funny feeling he was still around,” said Mills. “We had gotten a few tips; some put him near Belmont and St. John, but today’s tip was golden.”

Owens called the arrest a “victory” for the police department, as well as the community.

“It’s a victory for the police department, but it’s really exciting for the community because of all the havoc that one individual has caused,” Owens said. “I’ve worked for the police department for just shy of 12 years, and it never ceases to amaze me the effect that one person can have on a community.”

Mills was quick to add that a conversation had already taken place with prosecutors about keeping Buchanan in custody, rather than turning him loose again on house arrest.

“We’ve spoken to prosecutors about the importance of holding on to Mr. Buchanan this time, so there won’t be any catch and release,” Mills said.

Buchanan will be held in the Jackson County jail on warrants related to his crime spree earlier this spring, as well as the new charges that detectives will be working up over the weekend. For now, Buchanan’s charges include two counts of 2nd Degree Burglary, one count of 1st Degree Burglary, one count of Trafficking a Stolen Identity, and one count of possession of a Controlled Substance.

Bail for Buchanan is set at $47,500.