Story - The Meade County Messenger


Vol. 115, No. 27	July 2, 2008

Burglary suspect arrested following manhunt; one turns himself in; another remains at large

By LARRY SEE JR.
Messenger Staff

An intense manhunt in southern Harrison County in the early morning hours of June 25 resulted in the capture of one person suspected of a two-state burglary ring.

MCSD photos
Bobby B. Cockerell

The second suspect, Bobby B. Cockerell, turned himself in to Harrison County sheriff’s deputies Friday afternoon, June 27.

The subjects were nicknamed the “Pillowcase Bandits,” according to Meade County Sheriff William “Butch” Kerrick. “They always carried out the stuff in pillowcases taken from the residences. That’s why we called them the Pillowcase Bandits.” Items such as jewelry and guns were taken from the targeted homes.

Kerrick said the first suspect, Christopher L. Rosebrock, 25, of Mauckport, Ind., was arrested near Valley City.

Rosebrock was lodged in the Harrison County Jail in lieu of a $100,000 full cash bond, according to officials there.

Christopher
Rosebrock

Kerrick said Rosebrock is believed to have been assisted by two others, one of them, 30-year-old Bobby B. Cockerell, who turned himself in late June 27.

Cockerell, a resident of English, Ind., is believed to have been assisted in the break-ins with his girlfriend, only known as “Kristine.”

“We were told she was his girlfriend and that’s why we are calling them Bonnie and Clyde,” Kerrick said.

Locally, the break-ins started May 16, Kerrick said, with the duo committing them on Tuesday and Friday.

“We don’t know why they picked those days and they didn’t occur every Tuesday and Friday,” he said. A total of eight burglaries were committed in Meade County with a fewer number in Indiana.

An alert citizen, who had heard deputies were seeking the suspect vehicle, a green Jeep Cherokee with temporary plates, pulled behind it on KY 79. Unbeknownst to him, another burglary had just occurred off Sirocco Road.

As the vehicle traveled north on KY 79 toward the Brandenburg city limits, the citizen kept in contact with central dispatch. Brandenburg City Police Sgt. Scotty Singleton stopped the vehicle in town.

After stopping the vehicle, it sped off again, traveling down KY 228, in the Jewish Hospital area and eventually to the Bypass, where it crossed into Indiana.

“The chase continued for about two and a half miles on IN 135, where he turned off onto a road near the Mauckport Fireworks store,” Kerrick said. The chase continued along various country roads for five or six miles, until the vehicle eventually crashed and Rosebrock fled on foot.

He was eventually located after assistance from the ISP air unit.

Cockerell stole another vehicle during the manhunt and left the scene.

Following Rosebrock’s arrest, he agreed to a 2.5-hour taped and oral interview in jail.

Officials interviewed Cockerell at the Harrison County Jail late Friday afternoon.

It was during Rosebrock’s interview he indicated who his accomplice was, what they had done and how many incidents they completed in Kentucky and Indiana.

Kerrick said the majority of the weapons stolen were sold to gangs in Louisville, while the jewelry and smaller items were sold and the funds used to acquire drugs.

Kerrick said after he receives a copy of Rosebrock’s taped interview, he will forward a request to the commonwealth attorney’s office to seek warrants for Rosebrock’s and Cockerell’s extraditions for the burglaries. In addition, a warrant will be placed on the national database seeking the arrest of Cockerell’s girlfriend.

Kerrick said the incidents primarily occurred locally, adding he called Breckinridge, Hardin and Jefferson county officials, who had nothing fitting these descriptions.

Right now, Rosebrock and Cockerell could be charged with burglary in the first degree, but the charge might change depending on how much and what type of items are recovered in the investigation.

In addition to Kerrick, others at the scene earlier in the week were Singleton, Indiana State Police, Sellersburg Post, Meade County Sheriff’s Department, Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, the Milltown constable and tracking dogs from the Corydon Police Department and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

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