BEATRICE – Beatrice Police arrested two Lincoln residents for burglary at the long-vacant Dempster Manufacturing plant in the south part of the city.
Lieutenant Jay Murphy says a city inspection official was at the facility Tuesday morning at around 10 a.m., and heard noise in the building and detected cigarette smoke.

Murphy says police officers were sent to the scene…..three to search the massive structure and three to set up a perimeter around the plant.
"The officers came upon two people inside the building, who took off running north, outside of the building. They kind of, just ran right into our perimeter officers and they were detained at that time, brought to the police department and questioned."

Murphy said the pair told police they had come to the building because they had been told by friends it was a good location for scrap items.
"They both had backpacks with them, and both had items with them they had taken from the building. We ended up charging them with burglary. The female had with her a blueprint that she had found inside the building...while the male had a couple of the rubber ink stamps...Dempster rubber ink stamps in his backpack. The male also had some meth, on him."

Police arrested 35-year-old Brandyn Tomes and 38-year-old Julie Rodgers…both of Lincoln. Police and city officials have had past problems with squatters in the building or people entering the closed plant illegally. It has been condemned and no one is allowed inside. "It's so covered up. We found these guy's car back in the woods, southeast of the building. They had gone through a hole in the fence, to enter."

Rodgers was held for burglary and possession of burglar tools, while Tomes was arrested for the same counts and possession of suspected methamphetamine.
Murphy says most of the machinery has been pulled out of the plant building and most areas are wide open….though it still has some smaller hiding places.

"We've went as far as putting up cameras and things like that. But, a lot of the windows are broken out...there's several holes in the fence. It's so easy to get into, especially on the west side. It's wooded...it's hard for the officers to see on their normal patrol, or even if they cruise through the south side of the building. It's so big....a couple of different stories plus you can get on the rooftop."

The long-term goal of the City of Beatrice is to demolish the plant.