SWEETWATER, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Sweetwater police have arrested multiple suspects accused of organizing a tool theft crime ring in several cities across Texas.

Ira Mavin Dickey, 72, Krystel Magee, 39, Johnny Lee Wells, 54, and Jay Lebretton, 30, have all been charged with Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity in connection to the allegations.

A 5th suspect, Troy Jennings, 53, was charged with Failure to Comply with Sex Offender’s Duty to Register during the investigation.

Police began investigating the suspects after they broke into a Sweetwater Tractor Supply in December 2022.

Investigators say they quickly began to suspect this group had committed a series of thefts in stores across Sweetwater and other cities in Texas, where they would steal tools to be sold, traded, or pawned.

Members of the Sweetwater Police Department, the Texas Game Wardens, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Nolan County Sheriff’s Office executed search and arrest warrants to conclude the investigation Wednesday.

$60,000 to $100,000 worth of stolen property was recovered during the warrant executions, as well as three firearms, one of which was reported stolen.

The investigation is ongoing and more arrests are expected to come.

No further information has been released.