EL DORADO -- An El Dorado man was arrested Wednesday in connection with a burglary Tuesday at the Dollar General at 6010 N. West Ave.
Lorenzo D. Glover, 19, of El Dorado was arrested on charges of commercial burglary and theft of property, both felonies.
According to a police report from the Union County sheriff's office, a keyholder for the store contacted the sheriff's office after arriving for their shift and finding a glass door broken and tobacco products missing from behind the counter.
The first deputy to arrive noted a large rock lying inside the store near where the glass was broken out of the east side door to the building, according to the police report. He also noted that water gauges on the east and south sides of the building were turned off, as well as an electrical unit, which had its lever in the off position, according to the report.
The electricity, it turned out, was turned off for the whole building, the deputy reported. Inside, the cabinet where tobacco products are stored was open and various tobacco products were missing, as was a display for cigarette lighters, according to the police report. Other products behind the register counter were also in disarray, the report says.
Union County Sheriff Ricky Roberts turned the electricity for the building back on, according to the report, and a store manager provided the sheriff's office with security footage recorded at the store.
According to the police report, the security footage showed a man attempting to open the east side door of the Dollar General at five minutes after midnight Monday; when the door was found to be locked, the man began throwing a rock at the glass door until the glass broke. He proceeded inside to the register, jumping the counter and filling several mesh bags with various tobacco products, before leaving approximately 65 minutes later and heading in an unknown direction, the report says.
An initial estimate of the value of the products taken put the tobacco products, which included various brands of cigarettes and cigars, at $1,500; the lighters at $50; and the damage to the glass door at $150.
Deputies had made contact with Glover on an unrelated call the same night the burglary took place, Capt. Jeff Stinson, chief investigator for the sheriff's office, said. When they saw the security footage the following morning, they recognized his clothing, and that was how the office determined he was a suspect.
Glover was arrested Wednesday. Stinson said when Glover was arrested, he directed deputies to the stolen items, which were at his home.
"We would have gone there eventually anyway, but it was nice of him to tell us," Stinson said.
Once the property was collected and itemized, Dollar General said the total value was $2,981.33.
Glover is set to face his first appearance before Judge Jack Barker today.