CATLETTSBURG — Two arrests were made in Boyd County on Tuesday that officials say are linked to the wave of recent burglaries in rural neighborhoods.

Kyle Riley Cornett, 20, of Ironville, and Jeffrey Ryan Shannon, 22, of Ashland, were arrested on one count each of second-degree burglary.

Tuesday’s arrests were made following a burglary in the 6500 block of Alley Branch.

Boyd County Sheriff Terry Keelin said information provided to police by residents involved in neighborhood watch initiatives helped lead to Tuesday’s arrests and have assisted in solving more than 25 other house burglaries.

Boyd County Sheriff’s Deputy Jesse Delaney made the arrests following a traffic stop less than a half mile from the burglarized home, Keelin said.

Cornett and Shannon were driving a black Geo Tracker with a tan top, which has been on a “watch list” of vehicles police suspected were being used in recent home burglaries.

The vehicle was placed on that list following resident-led discussions at two October neighborhood watch meetings. At those meetings, several area residents said they had seen the vehicle in their neighborhood with two men inside, but had not recognized the vehicle or men as neighbors.

They gave a description of both the men and vehicle to Keelin.

“One of the guys, he even had the tag number,” Keelin said. “As soon as Deputy Delaney ran the tag this morning, I knew exactly who it was.

“We were watching for that vehicle and then we see them coming away from a residence — Jesse saw them coming away and there were no vehicles there when they pulled out — so he then pulled them over down the road. They still had the stuff in the car,” Keelin said.

Following their arrests, Cornett and Shannon were placed in the Boyd County Detention Center.

It’s a place they should be more familiar with, according to Keelin.

Cornett and Shannon have been arrested a combined total of nine times within the last two years on charges ranging from receiving stolen property to burglary.

Keelin said Shannon has been arrested four times in Boyd County in the last two years on theft, receiving stolen property and burglary charges but he’s spent a total of 10 days behind bars.

Shannon was on unsupervised probation when he was arrested Tuesday.

Cornett has had even more experience with the criminal justice system.

According to Keelin, since 2008 Cornett has been arrested in Boyd County on six theft, receiving stolen property and burglary charges.

He pleaded guilty in June to two burglary charges, two theft charges and one count of receiving stolen property from four separate cases.

Cornett was given five years probation instead of a prison sentence that could have ranged from 13 to 35 years, Keelin said.

He said the situation is a perfect examples of why it is so difficult for the cycle of thievery to be broken.

Law enforcement officials are told by prosecutors that individuals like Cornett and Shannon are placed on probation instead of jailed because of the overcrowding in jails and prisons.

“That’s what’s wrong,” Keelin said.

“You must separate the wolves from the sheep because the wolves are going to prey on the sheep and as long as the wolves are out of jail they are going to keep preying on the sheep,” he said.

Boyd Commonwealth’s Attorney David Justice said there are several reasons individuals like Cornett do not serve more time.

Justice placed the primary blame on judges who probate sentences rather than follow sentencing recommendations of prosecutors.

He said jail overcrowding also contributes to the situation.

“There is a problem with the jails. It starts with the governor. He has instructed the Department of Corrections to give early outs to people based upon overcrowding of the prisons,” Justice said. This is being done, he said, “simply to balance the budget.”

Former Circuit Judge Marc I. Rosen agreed overcrowding is a problem and as a result individuals are paroled very quickly, but he elaborated on several other reasons the system fails to prevent recidivism.

Many thieves serve their time, but when they are released have not received the drug rehabilitation and job training they need to become successful.

As a result, Rosen said, “They can’t find a job and they end up resorting back to crime.

“On these burglaries it’s so simple for people to say ‘It’s the court because they get caught and the system doesn’t do anything to them.’ They tend to forget people go to jail, they do do their time and they are no different than when they went in.”

He said the sheer number of individuals who turn to crime to feed their drug habit is simply overwhelming the system.

“We give a lot of people a little bit of treatment, which is never enough,” he said.

Rosen said as a judge, he often follows the sentencing recommendations of prosecutors, who make plea bargains that include reduced sentences “for their own reasons.”

Court documents show this is how Cornett came to be on probation instead of serving a lengthy prison sentence.

A plea agreement signed by Justice, Cornett and his defense attorney, Andy Markelonis, on June 24 recommended that Cornett’s six-year prison sentence be probated for five years.

Cornett was also ordered to testify if subpoenaed as part of the plea agreement, which also stipulated that he “not incur any new charges during the probation period.”