By Gary Lloyd
IRONDALE — On Oct. 16 a residential burglary was committed in the Shannon community.
Jewelry and credit cards were stolen. Within hours a white male suspect was captured on video using the victim’s credit card at Lowe’s in Bessemer and Walmart in Homewood, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
The credit card was also used at a shoe store. His vehicle, a two-tone Ford Explorer, was also captured on video. On Oct. 23 sheriff’s detectives published photos of the suspect and the vehicle taken from surveillance footage.
On Oct. 24 an Irondale police officer spotted a blue and white Ford Explorer that he believed was the one featured in the photos. The vehicle was stopped by Irondale police and sheriff’s detectives went to the location of the stop. The driver of the SUV was identified as 32-year-old Richard Lee Meeks, of Irondale. He was recognized as the man who appears in the surveillance photos.
Detectives went to a nearby hotel where Meeks was staying to talk with his girlfriend. When she opened the door, some of the tools that had been purchased with the stolen credit card could be seen lying on the floor. The girlfriend allowed detectives to search the room for stolen property. The jewelry stolen in the burglary was found in the room.
Meeks was arrested and charged with third-degree burglary and fraudulent use of a credit card. He remains in the Jefferson County Jail with bonds totaling $30,000.
Additional charges are expected.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.