A West Virginia man is in custody today after authorities say he broke into at least two vehicles and stole snowboarding clothing from one of them.
The investigation began about 5:10 p.m. Wednesday, when a woman reported her car had been damaged while it was parked at Waters on Mayowood, 827 Mayowood Road SW. The back window was shattered, and pink snowboarding clothing valued at about $500 was missing, the report says.
A witness saw a car with Illinois license plates near the scene.
As officers were taking that report, another call came in from an employee at Tony's Smoke Shop, 440 Crossroads Drive. The employee said a man, later identified as the 22-year-old suspect, entered the business, asking where he could get "booze and weed," said Capt. John Sherwin.
When the employee told him he couldn't get either of those things at the shop, the suspect — who had bleeding cuts on his hands and arms — then wanted to fight everyone there, the report says.
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When officers arrived, the man was trying to leave; he was driving a car with Illinois license plates, Sherwin said. The odor of alcohol was detected, he said, and the suspect failed field sobriety tests. A preliminary breath test later indicated a reading of .14.
Officers spotted pink snowboard clothing in the back seat of the vehicle, the report says, as well as a crowbar with blood on it. Authorities received a second report of a vehicle with the back window shattered, Sherwin said; it was parked at the Crossroads Hy-Vee.
The Post-Bulletin typically doesn't identify suspects until they've been charged.
