Police arrest Merced burglary suspect
Merced police nabbed a man accused of several burglaries after a resident held him until officers arrived.
Police said they received a call around 7:48 a.m. Wednesday saying a man was breaking into a car in the 200 block of Seneca Street. When officers got to the house, they found the car’s owner had detained the suspect, identified by police as John Thuener, 32, of Merced.
The owner told officers he saw Thuener taking the in-dash CD player and other belongings from the car. Thuener was arrested and the property from the car was recovered and returned, police said.
Police have also been investigating a burglary from Monday, in which jewelry, tools, clothes and a laptop computer were stolen in the 2800 block of McCombs Drive. Officers said they believe Thuener was possibly involved in that incident as well.
After speaking with Thuener and conducting a follow-up investigation, officers recovered most of the stolen property from the residential burglary on McCombs Drive, police said.
Thuener is being held in lieu of $51,000 bail on two felony charges of burglary and possession of stolen property of more than $1,000.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call the Merced Police Department Detectives Division at (209) 385-4702 or the tip line at (209) 385-4725.
This story was originally published November 27, 2014 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Police arrest Merced burglary suspect."