Knoxville residents may have been feeling a bit more at ease as the Knoxville Police Department has announced the arrest of 19-year-old Robert Brabson Jr. in connection with a spree of car burglaries. Over ten days between Sunday, January 4 and Wednesday, January 14, downtown vehicle owners fell victim to a series of break-ins across multiple parking structures – including the State Street Garage, the Civic Coliseum parking garage, and the Marble Alley parking garage.
Police were able to pin down the same suspect for each of the incidents, following an extensive review of surveillance footage. The suspect, later identified as Brabson Jr., was traced back to The Vistas apartment complex just off Hall of Fame Drive. It was there, in an apartment at the complex, that he was apprehended by Knoxville Police Department officers on Thursday. The department’s official statement detailed that clothing matching the surveillance video and additional evidence linking Brabson Jr. to the burglaries were found during the subsequent search of his residence.
Brabson Jr. wasn’t new to the law; at the time of his arrest, he was already wanted for violation of probation on a prior aggravated assault charge. Now, he faces an extensive list of charges, including 10 counts of burglary, five counts of theft, two counts of theft of a firearm, and one count of convicted felon in possession of a firearm. The authorities have also hinted at additional charges pending in relation to other car burglaries in the downtown area…