RACINE – A Racine man remained in custody on charges of burglary and possession of a firearm by a felon following an arrest earlier this week.
The Racine County District Attorney’s office on Wednesday charged Jonnie R Lampkin, 26, of 722 Belmont Ave., with burglary of a building or dwelling, misdemeanor theft, and concealing stolen property. All three charges carry a repeat offender penalty enhancer.
Lampkin was charged separately on Wednesday with possession of a firearm by a felon. That charge also carries a repeat offender enhancer.
According to the first criminal complaint, Racine Police were notified a burglary at a residence in the 1900 block of Washington Avenue on October 30, 2020. Items taken included studio recording and computer equipment valued at $1,980. The room containing the equipment was entered through an unlocked window.
In February of this year, Racine Police investigators received a LeadOnline notification the items had been recently sold to the Music Go Round location in Kenosha. The item serial numbers were verified with the burglary victim and investigators identified Lampkin as the seller on the Music Go Round surveillance video. In addition, the burglary victim identified Lampkin from police photos as an individual who had recorded at the home studio in February 2020.
According to the second criminal complaint, a Racine Police officer recognized Lampkin driving a Chevy Trailblazer at Washington Avenue and Philips Avenue about 8:21 p.m. Monday. The officer stopped the vehicle because of a malfunctioning brake light in the 1200 block of Washington Avenue.
The officer reported “a strong odor of marijuana” coming from inside the vehicle. Lampkin was removed from the vehicle and a search of the driver’s seat area revealed a loaded handgun in the center console. Passengers, who had been sitting in the backseats, could not identify the handgun. Lampkin told the officer that he does not own a firearm and knew that he was not permitted to possess a firearm. But “had no viable explanation” for why the gun was in the vehicle, the complaint stated.
Lampkin made initial court appearances Wednesday afternoon on the burglary and firearm possession complaints. Cash bond on each of the complaints was set at $1,000. An initial appearance is scheduled for March 11 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 711 Wisconsin Ave.
