Portsmouth police were called to the Sidetrack Bar area after workers at two local businesses reported the same man getting into parked vehicles and taking things.
An employee with Thompson Plumbing first reported seeing a man with glasses and a ponytail inside a parked vehicle near the bar before he headed south.
Then another call came in.
A Portsmouth Building Supply employee said the same man had also been inside one of their parked vehicles near 7th and Brown streets, taking items before running off.
This time, the caller gave police a helpful clue about which way he went:
Toward the police department.
Officers caught up with a man near 5th and Lincoln and detained him.
A records check then turned up something else.
The Stark County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the man had an active warrant and wanted him held.
Police took him into custody and then went back to speak with the original caller and gather information for a report.
The available log does not list any new theft charge connected to the vehicle break-ins.
But the alleged getaway route probably didn’t help much.
After two businesses reported somebody rummaging through parked vehicles, the man headed in the general direction of the police department — and ended up in handcuffs anyway.