Police announced Thursday that Edward Bryant, 40, is being held on a fugitive warrant. Police say Bryant is charged with burglary and theft over $100,000. Texas authorities have begun extradition proceedings against him.
Police in West University say the purses were stolen Dec. 7.
"The homeowner did have a video surveillance system set up at his house that he could actually watch live from his laptop and he happened to be looking at his laptop when the second attempted break-in occurred," West University Police Department Sgt. Phil Clark said.
When police arrived, the suspects took off and led officers on a brief chase. After crashing the car they were riding in, the suspects escaped on foot, but not before leaving clues in the car. Those clues led police to Baltimore, and Bryant and another person were identified as the suspects. They contacted Maryland authorities this week and Bryant was arrested Tuesday at his home.
"Police believe the two suspects actually traveled from Baltimore by plane down to Texas and committed this burglary," Clark said. "Brought the handbags back to Maryland and were using this network to move the bags out and sell them as stolen property."
Police say four of the bags, ranging in value from $15,000 to $38,000 each, were recovered in California. They were sold online after they had been stolen.
Because of the nature of this crime, police say they wouldn't be surprised this suspect could be tied to other high-end crimes.
"I've never seen handbags that are this pricey and certainly never seen handbags been the specific target of any type of crime for that matter," Clark said.
A search for the second suspect continues.
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