Katelynn Singleton, news editor
On Nov. 17 and 22, 2021, former Berry students Dylan Stalzer and Davis Deloach, respectively, received sentences for their involvement in the 2019 Krannert burglaries. Stalzer was sentenced to five years of probation with a $500 fine, while Deloach was sentenced to 15 years probation with a $500 fine.
Police arrested Delaoch and Stalzer in April 2019 following the report of several missing packages from the Berry Post Office as well as the theft of a safe from the Krannert Student Activities Office (SAO). According to the Floyd County Clerk of Court, Deloach had been charged with two counts of burglary in the second degree, one count of burglary in the first degree and one count of theft. Stalzer was charged with one count of burglary in the second degree. The two were expelled from Berry College following the charges.
The case was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was finally able to be resolved in November.
Former Berry student Annie Deitz, who reported on the arrest in September 2019, said Deloach worked at the Krannert Center Activities Board (KCAB), which provided him access to the SAO, but not the Post Office. Deitz said that in the office there is a safe which holds money for student organizations and movie vouchers.
“He took this safe that had $3,000 in cash and checks and $4,000 in movie vouchers,” Deitz said.
Deloach also broke into the Post Office, taking nine packages total from six students and one faculty member. Berry College Police Chief Ryan Chesley, said that there was a mix of results when returning the stolen packages to the owners.
“Some of that property was never recovered, some of the property was recovered and returned and some of that property was recovered, but never claimed,” said Chesley.
Additionally, Chesley said that the police were able to charge Stalzer for the theft of the safe, but not the packages.
“We could prove that he was involved in the theft of the safe, we could not connect him to the theft of the packages,” Chesley said. “We never found anybody that had any information relating to that. So, he was not charged in that. The other gentleman, Davis Deloach, he had been in possession of some of that stolen property that was contained in the packages at the Post Office, that’s why he was charged.”
Following the arrests, Berry Police did a security inspection of the areas affected. Chesley said that additional cameras have been installed and the locks have been replaced.
“That was a pretty significant event for Berry College, it’s not a thing that’s sort of common,” Chesley said. “I think what that case showed for us is that there were a lot of things that went into that, but what basically solved that case was assistance from the community, and just really basic, sort of, feet-on-the-ground police work.”