CLEVELAND — Proactive deputies on patrol Sunday resulted in the arrest of a burglary suspect in White County.
Around 3 a.m. Sunday, deputies spotted a suspicious vehicle parked at a used car lot on U.S. 129 south of Cleveland, according to Sheriff’s Capt. Rick Kelley. Deputies made contact with the female driver of a 2013 Nissan Altima, who said she was waiting for her boyfriend.
After becoming suspicious of the woman’s story, they decided to leave her but remain in the area, according to Kelley. About an hour later, deputies saw a white van pull off Eagle Rock Road at a high rate of speed and pull up next to the Altima.
Deputies made contact with the driver of the van, who Kelley identified as Sean Thomas O’Connor.
After some investigation, the deputies discovered that the van had just been stolen from an unoccupied residence off Song Bird Drive, and that same residence also had been burglarized, according to Kelley.
A sheriff's investigator was called to the scene and the investigator working with the deputies collected evidence and recovered property. According to Kelley, officers recovered about $20,000 in stolen property, including electronics, guns and jewelry.
O’Connor was taken into custody and charged with two counts of burglary, as well as one count each of possession of tools for the commission of a crime, second-degree criminal damage to property, and theft by taking.
The case remains under investigation.
