Tempe Police arrested a Phoenix man on Saturday morning believed to be linked to at least 14 burglaries in Tempe homes.
Forty-year-old Tony Ray Sullivan was booked into Tempe City Jail after he was suspected of using a stolen credit card at a Circle K convenience store in Phoenix.
Sullivan has been charged with three counts of credit card theft and four counts of burglary but Tempe Police Sgt. Steve Carbajal said those charges could increase after detectives do a complete search of Sullivan’s household.
“We expect that may change once detectives have a chance to go through some evidence that we located during the search warrant that was served at his house, “ Carbajal said.
Northwest Tempe is where most of the burglaries took place, Carbajal said. Homes would be broken into between the hours of 1 and 6 a.m.
“Most of the burglaries we see occur during the daytime hours when burglars might think that people would be at work,” Carbajal said. “That’s what was interesting about this one, is (the burglar) was going in when there was obviously a likelihood that people would be home.”
Carbajal said the burglar would mostly steal credit cards, small electronics, cash and jewelry. It is unknown at this time how much was stolen because the investigation is ongoing.
Carbajal said as of right now there are about 14 burglaries that could have been committed by the same suspect, but detectives are still working to see if Sullivan is connected to any of them.
According to Tempe crime statistics, police reported 1,416 burglaries in 2010. This was a 4 percent drop from 2009 numbers.
Tempe Police are holding a neighborhood watch meeting Monday night to address safety issues and tips to avoid a burglary. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at the Westside Community Center at 715 W. Fifth St.
Reach the reporter at sraymund@asu.edu
