An Austin man finds himself behind bars after a residential burglary incident in Gillespie County turned into a strangely rectifying series of events.
According to FOX 7 Austin, the Gillespie County Sheriff's Office was alerted on Tuesday to a break-in at a home located at the 3900 block of Keese Road. The homeowner got a heads-up from his security system that someone had entered his property while he was away. Security footage showed a young man wandering inside the house, eventually leaving, rifle in hand. There was no sign of forced entry, as it turned out, the front door had been left unlocked.
A tip-off later that day gave deputies a description of the suspect and the vehicle seen on another property. Curiously though, later in the evening, the suspect reentered the residence—this time turning the security camera away, only to return the stolen rifle, as noted by Gillespie County officials.
Identifying the alleged burglar was no tough task for the authorities; the suspect was named as 20-year-old Eric Matthew Levan from Austin. After securing an arrest warrant, and in contact with one of his relatives, Levan surrendered himself to the Gillespie County Jail on Thursday. Upon his capture, he was reported to have been cooperative, according to the police.
Meanwhile, the Gillespie County Sheriff's Office had been working to get the word out about the burglary before the suspect turned himself in. In a video released on YouTube, authorities shared images of the suspect decked out in khaki pants and a red shirt during the act. They appealed to the public for information that could lead to his apprehension, offering contact details for the Gillespie County Crime Stoppers.
