By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

HAHNVILLE – Authorities in St. Charles Parish this week arrested a 47-year-old homeless man who is accused of breaking into as many as 10 vehicles in the Luling and Boutte areas over the past several weeks.

St. Charles Sheriff Greg Champagne said plain-clothed detectives and deputies working a task force along the U.S. 90 corridor detained and arrested Emmett Terrance Thomas Jr. of Boutte Monday evening. He said Thomas was found in possession of items he had just taken from a vehicle in Luling, and detectives had evidence to link him to nine other car burglaries in that same area.

In an email sent out to residents, Champagne said the burglaries occurred over the last couple of weeks primarily at business locations along U.S. 90. He said in most of the burglaries, Thomas forced entry into cars where assorted valuables were in plain sight. The vehicles were parked at hotels, repair shops and other locations.

In a previous email, Champagne had stressed to residents that auto burglaries had been an ongoing problem in neighborhoods throughout the parish. He said many of the incidents involve unlocked vehicles with valuables and other things in visible sight. Since Monday, sheriff’s deputies have been canvassing neighborhoods on both sides of the river leaving door-hangers from the Sheriff’s Office that warn residents about the dangers of leaving homes and vehicles unlocked. The flier offers tips to residents in an effort to prevent future burglaries.

Thomas was booked with 10 counts of simple burglary. He is being held at the Nelson Coleman Correctional Facility in Killona on an $82,500 bond.