Managing Editor

Dec. 29, 1999 11 PM

Corey Redmon, a seven-year-old boy with cerebral palsy, is once again sitting in front of his computer after Pike County Sheriff’s Department officers solved a string of burglaries and returned many of the stolen items to victims.

Redmon’s grandmother, Janet Register, said community support for Corey has been tremendous, and that donations for a new computer have been coming in regularly.

"Since I got the news that Corey’s computer had been located, I have contacted each of the donors and have told them," Register said. "All of them have been very generous, telling me to keep the money and that they were glad to contribute."

Another contribution came from Wiley Sanders Trucking in the form of a new computer.

"It is a generous donation and we appreciate it very much," Register said. "Corey has been in front of it since it arrived almost constantly, as if he was afraid someone would take it away. Still, we are glad to have his original computer back and we thank the Sheriff’s Department for all the work they did to get it."

Pike County Sheriff Russell Thomas and Sheriff’s Department Capt. Dennis Riley returned the computer Wednesday afternoon with some technical help from Sheriff’s Department employee Marc Ross who hooked the computer up and worked to restore its settings to where they were before the theft.

The Sheriff’s Department was able to return the stolen computer, monitor, speakers, printer and a box of software CDs, and a VCR to Redmon and Register. The items were located located at a home in Montgomery. A stolen gun, a television, some silver dollars and other stolen items have not yet been recovered.

"We never thought we would get back this much," Register said. "We’re happy about what we have."

Register’s home in the Mt. Moriah area was burglarized on Dec. 1 when two defendants who are now incarcerated in the Pike County Jail broke in the door to the home and swiped valuables.

The two juveniles have been arrested and are charged with first degree burglary, which is a Class-A felony reserved for certain crimes, including those where firearms are stolen.

Register, considering the ramifications of the case, had sympathy for the two juveniles, despite her loss.

"It’s almost sad when you think about it," she said. "They went through all that trouble to get that stuff and now they have nothing to show for it. They’ll probably go to prison for what they did. I feel sorry for them in a way."

For Corey, though, things are looking better. He had trouble containing his smile as he thumbed through his CDs that were recovered.

"Here’s my Rugrats CD," he told his grandmother. "I love Rugrats."

Corey watched eagerly as Ross began hooking up the computer, which kicked on perfectly, though some of the contents on its hard drive had been rearranged some. The only glitch was that the mouse didn’t work.

"Go get him a mouse and bring it back to make sure we get this thing running right," Thomas told Ross. "He’s excited and wants to be able to get back on his computer."

Thomas said returning the computer and seeing the good things that can be done through his work made the experience very rewarding.

"We deal with a lot of people who are often on the sinister side," he said. "The criminals and the world they run in becomes our world sometimes if we want to be able to catch them. Something like this makes you feel good, like you’ve accomplished something that people appreciate. I like that part of it a lot."

Thomas also extended his thanks to those who donated to help Redmon buy a new computer.

"I personally appreciate the gifts and donations," he said. "This is a great child and knowing that people out there care enough to do something makes me appreciate the county and the folks here for helping this family out."