Warrants Issued For Burglary Suspect From Birmingham

By REBECCA HAZEN
News Editor

Dade County Sheriff’s deputies are on the lookout for a burglar who has broken into multiple homes in Dade County. The suspect, who has been identified as Darius Termayne Hill, has three warrants for his arrest.

The Sheriff’s Office identified Hill thanks to video and information from a neighboring agency.

According to Sheriff Ray Cross and Detective Chad Payne, there were six burglaries, one in New Salem, and the rest in Rising Fawn. They have been able to tie Hill to three of the burglaries, but they are confident that he is responsible for all six.

“I want people to be assured that he probably isn’t going to be coming back. He’s aware that we’re looking for him,” Cross said.

“We received video from a community member that was next door to a burglary. I put that out to different agencies around us. A detective from an outside agency told us that two years ago, they arrested this guy on burglary charges, and that he was from Birmingham,” Payne said.

“The community’s help with that video was the break in this case,” Cross said.

Dade County detectives started looking in pawn shops around Birmingham and found many of the stolen items. Payne noted that he has already made one trip to recover some items.

Some of the items that were stolen include a guitar, a computer, televisions, multiple guns, and jewelry.

“This guy, his thinking was that if he went two hours away, we’re not going to know who he is. He wasn’t planning on us being able to get a picture of him and other agencies identifying him,” Payne said.

Payne went to Hill’s house in Birmingham, but he wasn’t home at the time. In addition, Payne was also able to talk to Hill on the phone, during which he tried to convince him to come to the Sheriff’s Office and turn himself in.

“We’ve just got to catch him now. It’s a matter of time. This guy is out on bond in DeKalb County, Ala., for the same crimes. Ourselves, agencies in Birmingham and DeKalb County, we are all looking for him,” Cross said.

Cross and Payne stress to community members to take photos of valuable items, including writing down serial numbers of items. This will help belongings be easier identified, in the event of future burglaries. For items that do not have serial numbers, remember identifying marks and features.

“Security cameras are a big help,” Cross said. “The best thing that you can do is get a camera down low where you can get a tag number. A lot of times the camera is up high. You can see the car, but you don’t have the tag number. That would give us the biggest lead on a crime.”

“We all live in Dade County. We are all invested in this community. We want to protect people and catch the bad guys,” Payne said.