Burglaries at banks and schools in Bates and Vernon Counties

On January 19, 2009, a series of burglaries occurred in a vast area of Missouri and Kansas. At approximately 12:58 a.m., the Bates County Sheriff’s Department was dispatched to the Security Bank in Hume, MO on an alarm call. They viewed the video and determined that the suspects were driving a silver Ford Ranger. At 2:01 a.m., the Bates County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to the Miami School in Amsterdam, MO on a report of an alarm being activated. The Rich Hill Police Department reported that the Rich Hill School had been entered unlawfully and numerous items had been destroyed including numerous doors, etc. Later on the 19th, Bates County Sheriff Deputy Rick Metcalf found the 1997 Ford Ranger, which had been stolen.
An interview by Sheriff Anderson and Chief Deputy Moreland, with assistance from the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office and the Nevada Police Department, determined that the two suspects were involved in the incidents. They were taken into custody: Matthew S. Swarnes (far right), 19 years old of Rich Hill, and Zachery Guenther (right), 20 years old of Hume.
This was a joint effort with four counties and two states with the following agencies: Rich Hill Police Department, Butler Police Department, Vernon County Sheriff’s Office, Nevada Police Department, Linn County Sheriff’s Office, and Pleasanton Police Department.