Officer Fillmore began checking other businesses in the area and found the Taco House restaurant, also in the 5000 block of Broadway, had been broken into. Officers entered the business to look for suspects but the building was empty. While processing the scene for evidence, Officer Fillmore located a cell phone on the floor. The business owner arrived and stated the cell phone did not belong to him. Officer Fillmore found the phone to belong to a subject named Robert Berger.
At approximately 6am, Officer Popovich was dispatched to a Step n Go in the 2400 block of 53rd Street when another burglary alarm was tripped. The front glass door was broken. With the help of the business owner, Officer Popovich was able to view the video camera system which captured the burglary and video of the suspect. Officer Popovich broadcast the suspect description over the radio.
At roughly the same time, Officer Horton was investigating a burglary of the Avenue S Food Store located in the 5700 block of Ave S. Officer Horton was viewing video footage of the burglary at this location and the suspect description broadcast by Officer Popovich matched the suspect in this burglary as well.
A short time later, Officer Lorraine Franco observed a suspect fitting the description at 44th and Avenue R who was running and gave chase. Officers Davis and Benavides responded to the area and the suspect was apprehended in the 4300 block of Avenue Q ½. The suspect was identified as Robert Lee Berger.
Officer Popovich advised Berger that it was not a good idea to leave your cell phone at the scene of a crime, to which Berger stated, "Yeah, you may as well put that on World's Dumbest Criminals."
Berger, 43, is charged with three counts of burglary of a building and one count of felony evading arrest. Bond is set at $60,000 for each charge, for a total of $240,000.
