(CITRONELLE, Ala.) Three teens and a 21-year-old are charged in a rash of car break-ins.
The group was arrested early Sunday morning in Citronelle.
Police say the arrests solve more than a dozen vehicle break-ins from the past week.
And it took a man catching them in the act, to put a stop to the crimes.
"It's just first reaction to react," said Jason Stringer, Police Chief Shane Stringer's brother.
It was around 1:30 Sunday morning when Jason Stringer and his family got three unexpected visitors.
"My son got up to go to the kitchen and said dad I think somebody is out by my truck. So, I walked out and saw three guys inside my son's truck," said Stringer.
Investigators say that's when 18-year-old Thomas King, 21-year-old John Morgan, and a 17-year-old boy took off running down the street.
"The one in the cab he had a little bit less of a head start then the other guys. I chased him. He fell in the street and I brought him back to my residence," said Stringer.
Police say most of the bruises you see on King's face in his mug shot came from his fall.
But Stringer admits the two did get into an fight after King hit him in an attempt to escape.
"The one I caught I know his parents. They are good people. This is a situation where as much as we try and parent and teach our kids, we can't control what our kids do," said Jason Stringer.
"When police arrived the victim advised officers that the other two suspects were running through the neighborhood on foot. Officers were able to apprehend those two," said Assistant Police Chief Matt Dyess.
Dyess says later that day they arrested another 17-year-old responsible for more car break-ins.
"The city is now looking at a teen curfew. It's in the beginning phases. There are still a lot of details to work out," said Dyess.
"It's very disturbing to know that people are out working trying to make a living and do for their families and to have someone try and take it away for nothing," said Stringer.
Police have now solved fifteen burglaries as a result of the four arrests.
