Homeowner Helps Police Catch Burglary Suspect

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Sandy Springs, GA -- A homeowner helped police track down the man he said burglarized his house over the weekend.

An officer with the Sandy Springs Police Department was dispatched to a report of a burglary in progress call around 5:49 p.m. Feb. 7 at a home in the 5600 block of Lake Island Drive.

The officer was advised that the homeowner told 911 dispatchers that he returned home and witnessed the suspect “coming from the rear of his residence, which is secured by a privacy fence,” according to an incident report released by the agency.

The victim also told police he saw a black BMW Z4 parked in his private driveway and as he tried to confront the man coming from behind his house, the suspect stuffed some items in the trunk, hopped into the car, and fled the scene at a high rate of speed.

According to the report, the resident called 911 dispatchers and remained on the phone while he followed the BMW. Police units were eventually able to catch up with the car in question and conducted a traffic stop in the 5900 block of Powers Ferry Road.

The officer conducting the traffic stop noticed a coat in the trunk area covering the license plate “in an attempt to conceal the license plate of the vehicle.”

The resident was able to positively identify the suspect, Ronald Mark Clark, 54, of Woodstock, as the man he saw leaving his home.

• RELATED: check out the latest Sandy Springs police blotter

Officers relocated back to the scene of the crime, and discovered the suspect allegedly damaged a frame and side door to gain entry into the house. They also observed the back window facing the pool area had been broken in an attempt to open it, the report states.

Nothing appeared to be missing from the home. During the traffic stop, officers conducted a search of the trunk of the BMW and found a crow bar possibly used to damage the door at the home.

Officers also found a piece of paper containing a list of several addresses, all of which were houses for sale or vacant properties, the report states.

Among the addresses on the list was the Lake Island Drive home the suspect allegedly targeted.

Clark was arrested and charged with burglary and possession of tools for commission of a crime. He was booked into the Fulton County Jail on Feb. 7 where he remains.

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Photo: Ronald Mark Clark. Credit: Sandy Springs Police