A single fingerprint led to

the arrest of a Clayton County man who is accused of

taking more than $40,000 in computer equipment from

several Peachtree City businesses over a two-year span.

Bond has been set at

$100,000 for Rodney Keith Holcombe, 26, of Jonesboro, who

faces four counts of burglary. He turned himself in

Tuesday morning at the Fayette County Jail and had his

first appearance in Fayette County Magistrate Court that

afternoon.

According to police,

Holcombe apparently entered the offices of Merrill Lynch

in the Westpark area before 5 p.m. Feb. 25, and he hid in

the ceiling above the bathroom as the building was

secured for the night. He then made off with $26,200 in

computers and accessories before the offices reopened the

next day, police said.

A fingerprint was lifted

from inside the ceiling, according to Peachtree City

Police Chief James Murray, and it was run through a

Georgia Bureau of Investigation computer for a possible

match with known criminals. A perfect match turned up

against Holcombe, who was already on probation for

burglary, Murray said.

A search warrant was

executed Feb. 28 at Holcombe's home, and that led to the

recovery of nearly all of the stolen items from several

locations, Murray said. The investigation is ongoing, and

charges could come against additional parties for

possession of the stolen goods, he added.

Some of the equipment

recovered was from previous burglaries at Merrill Lynch

and two other tenants in the same Westpark building.

These thefts date back to 1998, Murray said.