PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Following an unsuccessful attempt to flee from Lake Oswego police Tuesday, a Portland man admitted to breaking into more than a dozen vehicles and multiple garages, authorities said in a release on Thursday.
According to police, a caller reported that a man was trying to get inside someone’s garage on 4th Street near D Avenue at around 3:40 a.m.
Responding officers found a man matching the suspect description in a nearby alleyway but said he ran when they tried to approach him. Additional law enforcement officials, including K-9 officers, arrived at the scene to help set up a perimeter and search the neighborhood.
During the search, an officer reported seeing the suspect, later identified as 47-year-old Charles F. Thomas, inside another garage. This time authorities said he was attempting to steal a Smart car parked inside.
After allegedly saying Lake Oswego residents keep “nice things” in their unlocked vehicles, police said Thomas admitted to breaking into between 15 to 20 cars, two garages and a house while being under the influence of methamphetamine and fentanyl.
Thomas was ultimately arrested and booked into the Clackamas County Jail on a slew of theft charges, along with two counts of unlawful entry to a motor vehicle, and one count of unauthorized use of a vehicle.