Police arrest suspected burglar sleeping near crime scene

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Police found a burglary suspect under a tree claiming to sleep near the crime scene.

There is surveillance video of a man walking through an aisle R&R Jewelry and Loan, picking something up, and walking out. The owner accessed the camera from home this morning when an alarm went off at the store on Houston Avenue.

According to Lt. Larry Crowson of HPD, officers didn't have to go far to find their suspect.

"Under a banana tree, next to the store, they found the suspect hiding with a backpack that had the laptops inside it," said Crowson.

Police say he was claiming to be asleep. He denied breaking in the building to TV cameras capturing his arrest, and said he didn't know who was on the video.

"I don't know, it ain't me. I don't know, I really don't know," the suspect said as he was put into a patrol car.

"There's a hole, he knocked a hole in the back of the wall in the store to make entry," said Crowson.

The store owner, Rick Hallberg, was relieved at the quick resolution,

"It turns out he got 3 laptops, but they arrested him on the side of the building. It was a lucky night for us," Hallberg said.