Man caught stealing change

Published 7:00 am Tuesday, August 26, 2014

The owner of a business in Carriere captured a man stealing items from vehicles located on his property and held him until law enforcement arrived.

 Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Shane Tucker said the call came in at about 7:19 p.m. where the business owner of Todd’s Collision Center on Burgetown Road in Carriere, reported he caught a man rummaging through three of the vehicles he had parked behind a gated area at the business.

When the suspect saw the business owner, he fled on foot, but the owner gave chase and captured the man, holding him until deputies arrived to take him into custody, Tucker said. He was later identified as 30-year-old Christopher Weidert who claimed to be homeless, but gave an address of 59 B Burgetown Rd., Carriere, Tucker said.

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Deputies searched the man and found $9 in change in Weidert’s possession and an Energizer headlamp that he had allegedly taken from the three vehicles, Tucker said.

Weidert was charged with three counts of vehicular burglary and is currently being held on a $21,000 total cash bond for all three charges, Tucker said.

The chief deputy said the vehicles were unlocked.