Citizen Tip Helps Police Catch Accused Lake Elsinore Thief

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A Lake Elsinore area transient accused of a local burglary is behind bars Friday, thanks to the tip of a local concerned citizen, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department reports.

Donald Harrison, 35, was spotted in the area of Main and Flint streets on Tuesday by someone who "recognized the suspicious person from a surveillance video that was posted on social media site," according to sheriff's Sgt. James Woodland.

Sheriff's deputies working the city's "Problem Oriented Policing Team" went to speak to the man and soon found he had committed a local theft — and had drugs with him, according to Woodland.

"Officers located the suspicious person and conducted an investigation into the burglary," Woodland said in a news release. "Officers recovered a helmet and a bicycle that had been reported stolen."

Harrison was taken to the French Valley jail where he was booked on suspicion of several charges including burglary, possession of drugs, and outstanding warrants for theft related crimes, records show. His bail was set at $35,000.

— Image via Riverside County Sheriff's Department