BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. — Authorities in Berkley County have a pretty good idea of who committed a series of recent vehicle break-ins - in no small part because the Columbia man was allegedly wearing an ankle monitor the whole time.
"It's not smart to commit crimes while you're being tracked by the state of South Carolina," the Berkley County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post on Thursday.
The sheriff's office said it arrested the man after tying him to a string of vehicle break-ins in the Nexton community on Tuesday. While investigating those break-ins detectives found an abandoned vehicle that had been stolen from Columbia.
Forensic technicians then found latent fingerprints on the vehicle that they were able to match to a Columbia man who was out on bond for multiple pending charges of breaking into a motor vehicle. According to the sheriff's office, one of the conditions of the man's bond was that he wear a GPS monitor.
That monitor showed that the man was in Nexton on the morning of the thefts and that he had immediately returned to Columbia after them. Investigators believe he apparently drove home in a stolen vehicle from Nexton.
With the help of Columbia Police, the theft suspect was discovered driving a vehicle that was reported stolen out of Florence on Oct. 20. Working with authorities in Florence, Berkley County investigators then found the vehicle stolen out of Nexton.
The sheriff's office said that he "established a pattern (that wasn't so good) of stealing cars to drive around the state" and that "those stolen vehicles were used to commit other thefts."
Warrants were obtained for the man's arrest for theft of a motor vehicle and grand larceny. He is currently in Columbia Police custody and will soon face a Berkley County judge for additional charges.
