COLUMBUS, Ind. — A local man who officers believe is responsible for multiple recent business burglaries on the east side of Columbus was arrested early Thursday morning.
Detectives from the Columbus Police Department have been investigating several recent early morning burglaries at businesses where a rock was used to break glass to
gain access to the buildings. Cash registers, currency and lottery tickets were reportedly stolen during the thefts, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman.
In the early morning hours of Jan. 26, CPD officers responded to a report of a business burglary in the 1700 block of State Street. When officers arrived, they observed that a rock was used to break the businesses’ glass door. It was determined that a cash register containing currency was stolen from the building. Officers reviewed security camera footage and noted that the suspect appeared to be Jeron McDonald, 27, of Columbus, a man who officers observed in the area just prior to the call.
A Columbus Police Department service dog was requested and began tracking the suspect. Officers located the stolen cash register in the alley of a nearby apartment building and eventually the canine track came to an end at an apartment building in the 500 block of South Cherry Street. The offices set up a perimeter where McDonald was later taken into custody without further incident.
Detectives later executed a search warrant McDonald’s apartment where they reportedly located a large amount of currency as well as several lottery tickets that were reportedly stolen in one of the earlier Columbus burglaries.
McDonald was placed under arrest and transported to the Bartholomew County Jail where he was remanded on the following preliminary charges: burglary, possession of stolen property and criminal mischief.
Additional charges are possible in this ongoing investigation.
The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team as well as CPD Intelligence Led Policing Unit assisted with this case, Harris said.
For more on this story, see Tuesday’s Republic.
