Quick-Thinking Victim, Jogger Help Police Nab Suspected Thief Sunday

CHARLOTTE, NC -- A quick thinking victim who found a stranger in the front seat of their car and a runner out for a jog Sunday morning thwarted a thief’s get away Sunday morning in south Charlotte, leading to an arrest and a laundry list of charges.

The incident is also a cautionary tale that you should always lock your car and never leave anything valuable inside it, police say.

The chain of events sparked off early Sunday morning, when a man realized his car had been broken into and items stolen while it was parked outside his home in the 7000 block of Sardis Road. After police arrived to take a report, the victim realized the suspect had also broken into all the vehicles outside his home as well as his home while the family slept, stealing a list of items.

According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, the suspect was discovered a short time later in the front seat of another vehicle by its owner outside their home on Sardis Road. When the suspect got out the vehicle, the owner was able to wrestle him to the ground. But when he was on the phone with 911, the suspected thief was able to make a run for it.

A trail jogger in the area saw the suspect, which helped police apprehend and arrest Noah Perkins, as well as locate a bag with some of the stolen items, CMPD said.

Perkins, 18, has been charged with nine counts of breaking and entering of a motor vehicle, five counts of larceny, first degree burglary, larceny after breaking and entering, larceny of a motor vehicle and resisting arrest.

He is now in the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.

Photo courtesy of CMPD