A Griffin man on Jan. 7 was caught by Fayetteville Police just minutes after burglarizing a home on Millhaven Landing near Redwine Road.
Stephen Michael Jones, 21, was charged with burglary, obstruction and loitering, according to Fayetteville Police spokesman Steve Crawshaw.
Crawshaw said an officer patrolling in the area in mid-afternoon saw Jones riding on a bicycle in the neighborhood. The officer minutes later came across Jones again and approached him. At that point Jones dropped the bicycle and fled on foot, leaving a backpack behind, Crawshaw said. The backpack contained an Xbox, video games, a laptop computer and jewelry, Crawshaw added.
Another officer called to the area soon saw a man driving a Ford Ranger pickup truck fitting Jones’ description. The vehicle was stopped and Jones was detained.
Meantime, a check of area residences determined that a forced entry had occurred in the Millhaven Landing vicinity. The homeowner was subsequently contacted and confirmed that the recovered items were taken from his home, said Crawshaw.
Crawshaw noted that the bicycle was apparently stolen from the residence and that Jones was using it to ride back to where he had parked his vehicle.
Crawshaw said that Jones told officers he was going to trade the stolen items for drugs.
