Burglary suspect caught in Morristown

A suspect is in jail this morning after he was caught at the scene of a business burglary and a possible attempted business burglary early Saturday morning. Michael L. Thomas, 54, of 330 Clarks Creek Road, Jonesboro, is in jail facing burglary, theft, vandalism, and possession of burglary tool charges. At approximately 03:42 a.m. on Saturday morning officers of the Morristown Police Department responded to an alarm call at Cash City, located at 1527 E. Andrew Johnson Hwy. in Morristown. Upon arrival officers discovered that the business had been forcibly entered through the front door. The phone and power cables had been cut to the business. Miscellaneous items had been removed from inside Cash City. A neighboring business, Liberty Plaza Coin Laundry, also sustained cut lines; however, the business was not entered and nothing was taken. The only damage sustained was to the utility box. Officer Clyde Short and K-9 Rader, along with other officers of the Morristown Police Department, were called to the scene. K-9 Rader tracked the scent of the suspect to some weeds in the area, where Mr. Thomas was found hiding. He was in possession of some of the items taken from Cash City along with some burglary tools, to include a police scanner and items to conceal his identity. Detectives continue to investigate the rash o business burglaries that have occurred in Morristown recently. Although it is unknown if these burglaries are connected to those in the past few months, the entry method is identical. It is also not known at this time if Mr. Thomas was acting alone this weekend. Mr. Thomas, who has a lengthy criminal history to include burglary, is currently being held without bond. He indicated to detectives that he has been out of prison for only a couple of years. “We have been working diligently to put an end to these business burglaries,” stated Chief Roger Overholt. “The plan of action we put in place in the event of another occurrence paid off in this instance. I commend the efforts of all the officers involved who assisted with the apprehension of Mr. Thomas. We will continue to investigate every lead concerning our open business burglary cases,” he added. Det. Phil Hurst, lead investigator in the case, is working to determine if Mr. Thomas could be responsible for the recent burglaries which have occurred in our jurisdiction.